The Remnants
by Lethargic Squirrel
Summary: Axel Nikitas is possibly the last living Commander of the Colonial Fleet. The Cylons have returned to the colonies to destroy their creators and claim their birthright. A select few of humanity survive and the Cylons learn that a determined race of survivors and a smart commander could change the outcome of an entire war. No major deviations from the original plot. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 1:<em> _Beginning of the End  
><em>**

**_Colonial Armistice Station_**

* * *

><p>"To know victory, you must first know defeat." Six of seven stated simply as she stood in the command center of her basestar, amongst three of her brothers and sisters, as they looked at the now ruins of the Colonial Armistice Station. It had been established after the end of the First Cylon War by the Cylons' Colonial counterparts in hopes that the Cylons and humanity may coexist in peace. The Cylons, however, never sent any delegation.<p>

Colonials had, for forty years, sent their ambassadors of peace while the Cylons sent no one. The first contact in years between Cylon officials had resulted in this particular Six's death. Five of nine, also referred to as Aaron Doral, spoke next. "Humanity will be defeated. There will be no victory. God has willed us to commit this act." Five explained, his arms crossed over his chest.

Number one of the seven humanoid Cylons, Cavil, scoffed at the statement Doral had made. "God did not will me to do this, I have willed myself. Humanity deserves everything they will get in the coming hours." He explained, failing to hide his amusement at the situation humanity would soon find itself in.

"It will be an interesting chain of events to watch unfold." Model three, Diana, stated with a chuckle. She then turned to a contemporary Cylon centurion, who had been standing by to receive orders, and spoke sternly. "Begin the attack."

* * *

><p>The Battlestar<em> Cerus<em>, a Valkyrie-class light battlestar, floated past the colony of Scorpia, approaching the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards for its two week overhaul to her navigation computers and install scientist Gaius Baltar's Command Navigational Program on both the ship and her Viper squadrons. _Cerus_ had avoided installing the Command Navigational Program due to a two month long patrol of the Cyrannus star system, hunting pirates and other nuisances to the Colonial Fleet.

It was a boring post, but it kept the old, first generation built Valkyrie-class busy. _Cerus_ had been the fourth Valkyrie-class battlestar commissioned into the Fleet during the First Cylon War, not long after her sister ship _Valkyrie_. _Cerus_ sported a modified armament. The Valkyrie-class battlestar, unlike her sister ship _Valkyrie_, sported thirty eigh ship-to-ship missile batteries instead of thirty two heavy dual mounted kinetic turrets, twenty medium dual mounted kinetic turrets, and exactly two hundred and forty kinetic point-defense weapons spread across the ship. _Cerus_ was also a longer variant of the Valkyrie, the only one of the subclass. Officially, _Cerus_ was classified as a Cerus-subclass battlestar. Her hull, compared to the seven hundred meter long standard Valkyrie-class, was one thousand and fifty three meters long and two hundred and seventy five meters wide. The ship held, at current complement, four squadrons of twenty Viper Mark VII's and a single squadron of fifteen Raptor shuttles.

Having an assignment that the Colonial Fleet deemed less than essential, _Cerus_ was kept to the minimum crew of twelve hundred and fifty men and women. To help the crew, however, many of the ships systems were made automated, including point-defense cannons and the ship-to-ship missile batteries. The sixteen kinetic turrets had been kept to manual control and each turret required a crew of three to operate efficiently.

The ship's hull was darker when compared to the Galactica-class battlestars and her armor plating was tougher than the standard Valkyrie-class due to the use of different materials in the ship's hull when she was built. The name could be found on both the port and starboard flight pods, illuminated by lights setup under each of the letters that spelt out _Cerus_.

The current commanding officer and the executive officer of the ship stood in the Combat Information Center, watching as the ship slowly drifted into its mooring. Commander Axel Nikitas and Lieutenant Colonel Stacey Moore stood side-by-side, monitoring the overall status of their vessel as it began its docking sequence with Scorpion Fleet Shipyards. "Commander, Shipyard control has authorized our docking. We're thirty seconds away from a hard seal." The ship's tactical officer, Junior Lieutenant Andrew Carter, reported to Nikitas.

"Understood, Lieutenant." Nikitas responded, his arms folded behind his back. Nikitas was an average sized man, weighing just below one hundred and eighty pounds, and had narrow shoulders. He stood at five feet, eleven inches and his hair was dirty blonde in an Ivy League style haircut. The Commander was forty one years old. "So, Colonel Moore, how do you intend to spend your week of leave? Going home to Aquaria or staying on Scorpia?" He questioned the Aquarian native.

Stacey Moore was younger than Nikitas at thirty three years old. The Lieutenant Colonel had short, military regulated black hair and had a fairly tan complexion considering how much time she spent shipside versus planetside. She stood at only five feet, eight inches, but her posture and facial expressions spoke of power. Executive officers had to be tough, especially aboard a battlestar. They were in charge of keeping general order aboard the ship as the second to the commanding officer. "I'll probably head planetside to Scorpia. Spend my week in a military dive of sorts." The executive officer said with a smile.

After a two month long deployment, most of the crew had the same feelings as the Lieutenant Colonel. Deployments nowadays were, for the most part, uneventful. Piracy and freedom fighters were at an all time low since President Richard Adar had taken office. The Colonial Fleet had even downgraded itself, decommissioning many older ships. _Cerus_ herself was barely saved from the chopping block that was the Adar Administration, but that wasn't a major concern to Nikitas. He was still moving up in the Colonial Fleet and he could see himself as, at the very least, a rear admiral in the next few years. Nikitas had already spent four of his twenty years in service as a commander, being promoted at the relatively young age of thirty seven. "I understand that completely." Nikitas stated with a smirk as the _Cerus_ came to a stop in her mooring and a hard seal to the shipyard was confirmed. "All right, Colonel, begin preparations for shore leave. I'll be in my quarters, if needed. The ship is yours." Nikitas added, saluting Moore.

Moore returned the salute briskly and took his place as Nikitas exited the CIC and began walking towards his quarters. Various crewmen saluted the Commander as he walked by before continuing on with their normal duties. Just as Nikitas was about to enter his quarters, an explosion rocked his ship, followed closely by wails from the klaxons that sounded when the ship was in danger. _"Set condition one! Set condition one!"_ Carter's panicked voice shouted over the shipwide intercom system before another barrage of explosions shook Cerus to her core.

Nikitas sprinted back towards the CIC, knowing he would be needed. When the Commander arrived, he knew whatever happening was bad. Moore lay on the floor of the ship's nerve center, a pool of blood forming under her. Junior Lieutenant Carter was attempting to rally the CIC, while many of the crew lay dead or severely wounded. Electrical wires hung from the ceiling and sparks flew, causing lights to short out, leaving the CIC in partial darkness. "Report!" Nikitas bellowed to Carter who stood at the damage control station.

"Lots of unknown contacts! DRADIS systems are down, as is the weapons control station! Frames two, seven, thirty one, thirty two, thirty three, and one hundred and four are all venting atmosphere! Fires reported in the starboard flight pod-" Carter was interrupted by another barrage of explosions. "-fires in starboard flight pod, along with a fire heading towards the main magazine! DC teams are attempting to fight it with handheld gear, but they can't get to the fire without us unsealing the frame!" He reported.

Nikitas sprang into actions. "Input random FTL coordinates and begin spool up, vent the frame with the fire heading towards the magazine, start getting weapons control back online!" He ordered quickly. Without weapon control, half of the ship's armament was effectively out of action.

Carter quickly vented the frame before moving onto spooling up the FTL drive. "Fire is neutralized! Fifteen minutes to faster-than-light drive spool up!" Carter reported, voice filled with worry.

"Helm, disengage our moorings and get us the hell away from the shipyard." Nikitas ordered while he picked up one of the wired phones that was attatched to the center console, keying it in for shipwide. "Launch all Vipers! Repel enemy attack while _Cerus_ moves to safety!" He said before placing the phone back down. Cerus lurched in protest as the helmsmen forcefully broke the battlestar's docking seals with the shipyard, moving away from the facility. "Do we still have any external cameras active?" Nikitas asked no one specific over the chaos.

"Camera four is still responding and it has the best view of what's going on!" An anonymous crewman reported.

The Commander grimaced before responding. "Put it on screen." He ordered, wanting to know exactly the situation they were in. When camera four's feed came up on screen, Nikitas' heart sunk as he watched the chaos unfold. Battlestars of various classes had been destroyed by sustained nuclear barrage before they even had a chance to exit their moorings. Several larger ships drifted, dead in space, with virtually no damage, as did hundreds of Viper mark VII's. It was then the Commander saw their enemy. Camera four rotated to bring into view three Cylon basestars heading straight for Scorpion shipyards. "Cylons..." He uttered in disbelief.

"Weapons control is back online! Point-defense weapons are back online and the first of our Vipers are away! Weapons awaiting orders!" Carter reported, jumping from station to station, filling in many different roles.

Nikitas instinctively glanced up at the DRADIS console before remembering it was currently disabled. "Set up a flak screen around the ship. Where are our most damaged areas?" He questioned.

Carter quickly ran over to damage control before reporting back. "Our topside has been hit hard. We've been hit by two nukes so far." The young Lieutenant reported anxiously.

"Helm, rotate us to where our belly is facing the oncoming basestars. Weapons, get a firing solution on the center-most basestar with our ship-to-ship missiles." Nikitas ordered briskly. Since the Commander's arrival, medics had arrived and begun treating the wounded, including his XO Stacey Moore. She was still breathing at the moment, but Nikitas could not afford to think about the extent of her injuries at the moment.

"Ten minutes to spool up!" Carter reported.

The Commander groaned in response. The smaller battlestar, built for support/second class combat, needed to holdout for another ten minutes with virtually no backup. The ship was keeping the Cylon Raiders and missiles at bay, but occasionally one or two of the warheads made it through. _Cerus_ had almost a full squadron of her Vipers launched with another squadron on its way.

The Valkyrie-class battlestar was, luckily, a fast ship, on par with even the more technologically advanced Cylon basestar's speed. If the Vipers could keep the swath of Raiders off their back and _Cerus_ kept moving, they stood a slim chance of making it through this battle. A very slim chance, but it was better than no chance. "Helm, full ahead." Nikitas ordered when his ship had turned away from the basestars.

_"Got two bogeys on my six."_ A male Viper pilot's voice came over the communications of the CIC.

_"I got you, Blackjack."_ A different female pilot added, destroying the two Raiders chasing his fellow pilot.

Nikitas tapped his foot, anxiously waiting for the end of the battle. There was nothing he could do except pray to the Lords of Kobol. "Carter, is there anything you can do to spool up the FTL drive?" The Commander questioned as calmly as he could.

"Besides pray? No, sir. Nothing I can do." Carter stated while he monitored the various systems of _Cerus_. The battlestar shook as a warhead made it through the flak screen that was setup by the two hundred and sixteen point-defense cannons. "Weapons control reports major damage to center-most basestar's middle axis. The ship has been cut in half and destroyed!" The tactical officer reported excitedly.

This elicited a short cheer of approval from the CIC crew. "Weapons, target left basestar next. Aim for middle axis and tear the frakker up." Nikitas ordered, retaining his composure as the rest of the crew let themselves celebrate. They weren't out of danger yet.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Viper Pilot Captain Adrian "Blackjack" Eriksson<br>_**

* * *

><p>"Frak, All-Star, we've got another wave of Raiders coming in!" Captain Adrian "Blackjack" Eriksson reported to his wing-man, Major Jamie "All-Star" Weston, the Commander of the Air Group.<p>

There was static and then a response. "_I see 'em, Blackjack. Hunter, Hotshot, disengage current targets and join Blackjack and myself. Let's take these frakkers out!"_ She ordered before maneuvering her Vipers towards the oncoming Raiders. The enemy fighters were heading right for _Cerus_ and with the amount that were heading towards the battlestar could prove to be fatal if enough of their missiles made it through the flak screen.

Blackjack frowned before following his wing-man. "Hunter, watch yourself, you've got a clipped wing as it is and you're going in way too fast." Blackjack stated, noticing the damage to Hunter's Viper. Before the Lieutenant could reply, his Viper exploded after a hail of fire from a Raider hit the plane's fuel tank. "Lords..." Blackjack muttered under his breath.

_"Hunter!"_ Hunter's wing-man, Hotshot, shouted, gunning his Viper straight for the Raider that had taken him out.

Blackjack was about to protest before Hotshot himself was destroyed after taking out the Raider, leaving Blackjack and All-Star to take on the eight Raiders on their own. Blackjack was quickly on the tail of one of the Raiders. He fired several streams of cannon fire, clipping the Raider's wing, sending it out of control and crashing into another Raider. All-Star had also managed to take down one of the Raiders. _"Got one, Blackjack. We'll take the rest of these frakkers out an-"_ The Major was cutoff mid-transmission and her Viper disappeared from DRADIS. A Raider had gotten on her tail and had managed to take her down.

Captain Eriksson was now alone and separated from the rest of _Cerus'_ Vipers. _"Cerus actual to all ships, return to base, I repeat, return to base!"_ Commander Nikitas' voice ordered over Blackjack's communications. Blackjack took down one more Raider with a stream of fire from his cannon before turning back towards _Cerus_ and going full throttle towards the port flight pod.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cerus CIC<strong>_

* * *

><p>"FTL's spooled up! Waiting for the birds to return to the nest!" Carter reported to Commander Nikitas.<p>

Nikitas nodded and picked up the wired phone. "_Cerus_ actual to all ships, returns to base, I repeat, return to base!" He ordered before setting the phone back down on its place on the center console of the CIC

"Second basestar's destroyed!" One of the weapons control crewman shouted to the CIC, gaining another round of cheers. They had made it through this fight and the Vipers were just now touching down.

The ship's chief communications officer, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jack Bennett, spoke. "All Vipers back aboard!" He reported to the Commander.

Carter looked up at Nikitas and nodded his head. "Ready for jump, sir." The tactical officer explained, awaiting the Commander's order to turn the key that controlled the FTL.

"Jump." Within just a few seconds, the ship exited FTL and came to an abrupt stop, bringing the _Battlestar Cerus_ to its unknown safe haven for the time being. "Status!" Nikitas shouted for, flinching when one of the lights above his head exploded into a bunch of sparks and hot, florescent glass shards rained down onto the floor of the CIC.

"Damage control reports all fires under control! Port hangar bay is reporting several support beams destroyed. Power is out in frames one twenty through one sixty except for frames one twenty four and one fifty six. Life support's hanging on. Multiple decompression reported and the affected areas have been evacuated. Multiple Vipers lost. DRADIS should be back online momentarily." Carter reported, standing by the damage control station and shouting the report to the Commander.

Nikitas' face stayed neutral. He wasn't shocked by any of this news. If anything, he was surprised _Cerus_, his ship, was still alive and kicking. "Put live feed onto the screen. Let's see where we are." The Commander said, folding his arms across his chest. The live feed came onto the screen and Nikitas found that they were in an asteroid field made up of mostly smaller asteroids. There were a few mile long ones, but other than those few they were small chunks of rock. "Helm, bring the ship to a full stop." He ordered as the DRADIS console came back to life.

Other than the asteroid contacts, the console picked up no other ships besides _Cerus_ herself. "Sir, power has been restored in frames one twenty through one thirty. Damage control reports the last of the fires have been put out. Weapons control reports two point-defense cannons and one medium turret lost in the fighting." Carter explained from his place at damage control station.

The ship's medics had just finished taking the last of the serious wounded to sickbay, leaving behind only the dead and the walking wounded who could still do their jobs, such as Jack Bennett, the communications officer. Bennett had a large cut across the right side of his head, which was bleed profusely, but he continued to do his job, coordinating shipwide efforts to improve the status of the wounded ship. "What the frak just happened, sir?" A random crewmember asked from his station.

"A deceleration of war." Nikitas never thought that in his years of service he'd ever have to speak those words. It struck the CIC silent, leaving many in awe and shock. Nikitas reached for the shipwide communication and activated it. "Ladies and gentlemen of the _Battlestar Cerus_, heed my words for they are truth. What I have to tell is one of the most shocking things you will hear in all of your life. The Cylons have returned. The attack on our ship was just a piece of a large scale attack on the Scorpion Shipyards and, more than likely, the Twelve Colonies themselves. We have, no doubt, lost many, but we must keep our heads and wait to mourn their loss. Begin preparations and repairs to get our ship back in the fight. Commander Nikitas, out." He put the phone down, turning to the CIC crew.

"Sir, reports are coming in from all over..." Petty Officer 2nd Class Bennett reported, walking towards the Commander with a paper held by both shaky hands. He attempted to hand it to Nikitas, but had troubles letting go.

Nikitas managed to pry the paper from Bennett's hands, reading the reports himself. Many battlestars had been destroyed in the opening attacks and all of the colonies were reporting nuclear detonations on their surface. A hundred and one battlestars reported destroyed out of the approximately one hundred and twenty the Colonial Fleet fielded before the start of the war. The Second Cylon War had barely been going for half an hour and already the Colonial Fleet was nearing complete destruction. Nineteen plus battlestars were unaccounted for, but Nikitas feared they had met similar fates to the ones at Scorpion Shipyards. "With the way these reports read, strange things have been happening across the Fleet." Nikitas stated, looking at the strange reports. "An entire battlestar and her Vipers powered down before destruction by the Cylons. Another stopped mid-attack. So many battlestars just stopped.

Carter had walked over and Nikitas showed him the reports. The tactical officer took a few moments to skim through the report before pausing and pointing at two bits of information. "Right there. Battlestars _Mercury_ and _Valkyrie_ both reported trouble with their CNP system right before shutdown and destruction." He read. _Mercury_ and _Valkyrie_ were both the leaders of their respective classes, the Mercury-class battlestar and the Valkyrie-class battlestar, and as such both were kept technologically upgraded. "Both our Vipers and our battlestars are outfitted with Baltar's program. That's the only connection I can think of that we don't share with the more modern ships." He explained.

"Nice catch, Lieutenant. Mister Bennett, send out a report on all Colonial Fleet frequencies. Advise all ships and fighters to disable their CNP systems immediately." The Commander ordered his communications officer, setting the report down on the center console. Bennett quickly did as Nikitas ordered while Nikitas and Carter spoke to each other. "Lieutenant, start getting casualty reports. I want to know how many we lost." The Commander ordered, running a hand through his dirty blonde Ivy League haircut. He knew the number was going to be staggering.

* * *

><p><strong><em>One Day After The Attack<em>**

* * *

><p>The solid casualty report came twenty four hours later and Nikitas' fears were confirmed. In the opening attack, they had lost seventeen of their eighty Viper pilots and two hundred and sixty six other crewmen, leaving the ship with a complement of nine hundred and sixty seven men and women, well under the recommended minimum of one thousand two hundred and fifty and way below the maximum of one thousand seven hundred and fifty.<p>

The Commander sighed as he placed the report down on the center console of the CIC, where repair crews were replacing light fixtures and fixing various consoles vital to the efficient operation of the Valkyrie-class battlestar. The Commander took a pen and wrote down the number of remaining crew on the paper. He wanted to have an accurate headcount of his crew at all times. Nikitas stared up at the DRADIS console, seeing the four Vipers that consisted of the ship's combat air patrol flying near the battlestar. "Order the CAP to move further outwards. I don't need them flying so close to our hull." He ordered Bennett.

"_Cerus_ actual to Blackjack, move the CAP further outwards from the ship." Bennett ordered the newly appointed CAG of the ship. After Major Weston had been killed in action at Scorpia, Captain Eriksson had been placed in the position of CAG by Commander Nikitas. Eriksson was the senior most pilot after Weston and was the best they had left. The ship's three other squadron leaders besides Eriksson had all been killed in the fighting. Eriksson was the last Captain in the entire air wing of _Cerus_, leaving him in charge of flight operations.

_"Blackjack to Cerus, acknowledged. Pushing flight further out. Oddball, take my wing. Jax, take Lowdown's wing. I've got lead."_ Eriksson's voice sounded tired over coms and Nikitas couldn't blame him. He had just fought for the lives of his comrades and himself just an hour prior and now he had found out that his home and family were, more than likely, killed by the Cylons. That's enough to drain anybody.

Commander Nikitas sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was one of the luckier ones. His immediately family was dead and all the family he truly had left were cousins, an uncle, and two aunts. The rest of his crew weren't quite as lucky. Many of them had parents, brothers and sisters, wives and children killed in the attacks. This would be a difficult time and much of it would be spent mourning the lost. "Permission to return to duty, sir?" A voice asked, causing Nikitas to spin on his heels.

Lieutenant Colonel Stacey Moore stood before him, leg in a brace, arm in a sling, and a bandage wrapped around her head. She now sported a cane to help her with the leg. Nikitas had to admit, he hadn't expected her to be up and ambulatory so soon. "XO, you're supposed to be in sickbay." Nikitas stated, arms folded behind his back.

"I can do my job." Moore responded simply.

"So be it. Take your post, Colonel." Nikitas ordered with a nod of his head. Moore saluted him, which Nikitas returned, and took her place next to the Commander. "Colonel, plea-" Nikitas was interrupted by both the DRADIS console and Lieutenant Carter.

"DRADIS contact!" Carter shouted, sprinting to his station.

Klaxons rang out as Commander Nikitas activated shipwide communications. "Set condition one throughout the ship. Launch the alert Vipers." He ordered calmly while glancing up at DRADIS. It had a single unknown capital ship heading straight for Cerus along with roughly ten smaller contacts. A baseship with fighters, more than likely.

"Wait, wait, wait." Bennett shouted from his station. "I'm receiving Colonial transponders." He reported.

"Confirm it!" Moore shouted, marching towards the communications station. "Godsdammit, don't just accept friendly transponders. Confirm them." She ordered Bennett gruffly.

Bennett took a minute to do as the Colonel said. "Confirmed, sir. Ships are Colonial." He stated, excited. The CIC crew erupted into cheering as DRADIS changed the two unknowns into ship names. The _Pollux,_ a military ship. The _Pollux_ was a Berzerk-class cruiser that had been in service as battlestar escorts since the First Cylon War. The ship had a complement of Vipers, but they were small. The Bezerk-class cruiser only had room to accommodate one squadron of twenty Vipers at a time.

Nikitas grabbed the wired phone and got into contact with the ship. "To the ship claiming to be the cruiser _Pollux_, this is the _Battlestar Cerus_. Respond immediately or you will be fired upon." The Commander challenged the ship, awaiting its response.

_"Battlestar Cerus, this is Pollux. We are damn glad to see you!"_ The voice exclaimed.

"Copy that _Pollux_. This is Commander Axel Nikitas, commanding officer of the _Battlestar Cerus_. Who is your CO?" Nikitas questioned.

There was a pause before response. _"This is Colonel Henry Conway. I am in command of Pollux, sir."_ Colonel Conway's voice came over the transmission. The Colonel sounded young, possibly early thirties. _Pollux_ had probably been the young man's first steps into commanding a larger vessel. "Permission to come aboard via shuttle?" The Colonel requested.

"Granted, Colonel. I'll see you in several minutes." Nikitas said, abruptly ending the communication. "Get me a squad of marines." He ordered, turning to Moore who nodded. Nikitas had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cylon Space<strong>_  
><em><strong>The Colony<strong>_

* * *

><p>"How did you let this <em>Battlestar Cerus<em> escape?" A model one, Cavil, practically screamed in anger at the Sharon model that had been planted aboard the ship.

The eight model simply scoffed. "It wasn't my plan to be spaced by one of our own Raiders. My plan was about to be set in motion before I was so rudely interrupted. I was on my way to engineering to disable their FTL drive." She explained, arms crossed over her chest.

Cavil groaned, stomping his foot in frustration. "No matter. We'll simply have to implement our backup plan. Send the orders to our agent aboard _Pollux_. I suppose we'll have to use that card earlier than anticipated." Cavil explained dejectedly. The one model had been hoping to use _Pollux_ to take care of either the _Battlestar Galactica_ or _Battlestar Pegasus_ that also escaped the opening attacks. "The _Pollux_ will work for this situation. _Galactica_ and _Pegasus_ will be dealt with eventually. It's not like we're in too much of a hurry." The Cavil stated with a short chuckle, hands folded across his back.

Humanity could run as much as they wanted. They would not escape the Cylon war machine as long as Cavil breathed.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Battlestar Cerus<em>**

* * *

><p>Commander Nikitas stood on the port side hangar deck, awaiting the shuttle from the Bezerk-class cruiser <em>Pollux<em> to finish its landing. It would be touching down momentarily and Nikitas had gathered his top officers for the ceremony. It was customary for a ship to greet another ship's officer as such, even in a time of war. Nikitas wanted to keep things as official as possible. He felt that would help the most when it came to coping with the loss of the Twelve Colonies.

_"Shuttle from Pollux has touched down, I repeat, shuttle from Pol-"_ The announcer didn't have time to finish before Cerus rumbled with the sound of a large explosion. Nikitas and many of the others were thrown off their feet and Klaxons rang out. Carter's voice came over the shipwide. _"Damage control teams report to port side hangar deck!"_ He ordered.

It was then that Nikitas noticed the smoke and fire that had made its way into the hangar deck. Since they weren't losing oxygen, Nikitas could only assume the explosion came from within the ship and had been unable to penetrate the hull. _"Decompression reported in the port side flight pod!"_ Carter reported. So much for the Commander's assumption.

He must have sealed the decks as soon as the explosion happened. The tactical officer had moved fast. Nikitas made it to his feet and ran to the nearest wall phone, taking the corded device out of its berth. "Combat." He ordered, waiting for Carter to answer while Lieutenant Colonel Moore and his other officers started helping the deckhands and damage control teams in containing the fire with handheld equipment. If the fire spread, it may reach the fuel that was kept on the deck, resulting in the destruction of both the ship and their lives. Carter answered, but didn't have time to put together a sentence. "What the frak just happened?" Nikitas questioned impatiently.

_"The shuttle sent from Pollux exploded. CAP's reporting a hole the size of a Raptor in the flight pod."_ Carter replied solemnly.

Nikitas sighed and placed the phone back into its berth. The deck's fire suppression systems had activated and water rained down onto the raging fire, suppressing it enough to let the handheld equipment easily extinguish the flames. They just weren't getting any breaks. Everything was going wrong for the Colonials. The fire suppression systems stopped spraying water and the crews began putting their handheld equipment away and started silently analyzing the damage. "Frak!" Nikitas screamed, hitting the side of the bulkhead. "Frak! Frak! Frak!" Every time he shouted the word, he slammed his fist against the bulkhead in frustration.

His crew silently stared at their Commander as he finally let the events that were unfolding take their toll on him. He was fed up of this already and it had only been a day. Nikitas sunk to his knees in frustration, knuckles bleeding. Moore walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Get up, sir." She ordered as if she was a mother ordering a child to do her will. The Commander obeyed, pushing himself up off of the ground and standing to his feet. "Now lead us." She muttered, leaving her words for him only.

Nikitas stared at her for several moments before reluctantly nodding his head. "Begin damage assessment and repairs. I want to know what happened if at all possible." He ordered the surrounding crew who immediately went to work on assessments and repairs, just as the Commander had said. Moore nodded her head in approval before heading towards the CIC, followed closely by Nikitas himself.

When they made it back to CIC, Carter had a short report to give them. "It's been confirmed that the shuttle from _Pollux_ exploded when it began entering into the hangar bay. It's going to put that hangar's ability to receive ships for a long while. I'd suggest transferring all Vipers and Raptors to the starboard flight pod, sir. Unfortunately, _Pollux_ reported that Colonel Conway, his executive officer, his chief of engineer, and his lead pilot all perished in the explosion, leaving a huge gap in _Pollux's_ command structure." The Junior Lieutenant reported solemnly.

"Copy that. Transferring all ships to starboard flight pod is going to be a bitch. That'll be a lot of labor." Nikitas paused to consider his options when it came to command of _Pollux_. "Have Major Ellington, our chief of engineering, report to the CIC." He ordered.

The tactical officer used the shipwide to call Major Ellington to the CIC and several minutes later, Ellington was present in the CIC. The Major saluted the Commander and Colonel, which they both returned. "Reporting as ordered, sirs." Ellington stated, folding his hands behind his back.

"I'm going to be completely frank with you, Ellington. The loss of the command staff of _Pollux_ after the explosion in the hangar deck is obviously going to leave a void aboard _Pollux_. Which means I'm going to need to pull you out of engineering. Lieutenant Colonel Moore here will be taking command of the _Pollux_ and you will take her place as the executive officer of this ship. I need you to choose your replacement and report back to me within the hour." Nikitas explained briefly the predicament the _Pollux_ and _Cerus_ had found themselves in.

Lieutenant Colonel Moore looked surprised. "You're placing me in charge of the cruiser, sir?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. You are the second most senior officer left. For now, I'm deferring command of the ship to you until we make contact with any Colonial Fleet remnants. If there are any, that is." The Commander stated, scratching his chin as he explained.

Moore nodded. "Understood, sir. What about my executive officer?" She asked Nikitas.

"You'll choose from the captains left aboard _Pollux_. Go through their files. There's bound to be one in there that will make a suitable executive officer. With the loss of their CAG, that leaves them with nineteen pilots and twenty Vipers. Maybe we'll find a pilot without a ship. Make sure the CNP systems are disabled on both the ship herself and the Vipers she has." Nikitas then turned to Carter. "Get a Raptor prepped to head over to _Pollux_ immediately." He ordered. Carter quickly obeyed his orders. "Attention!" Nikitas shouted, bringing the entire CIC to its feet. "There is an officer leaving the ship." He reported, saluting the Lieutenant Colonel.

Everyone saluted Moore, who had tears swelling in her eyes. Even though she could be a hardass, she appreciated the crew of _Cerus_. Moore returned the salute briskly before pivoting on her heels and exiting the CIC, heading towards the starboard hangar deck. "Sir, _Pollux_ is requesting a status." Petty Officer Bennett said to the Commander.

"Tell them that the new commanding officer of the ship will be there shortly and that she will need the service files of all captains aboard the ship. Services for the deceased will be organized for this evening." Nikitas explained while Bennett relayed the information to the Bezerk-class cruiser. The Commander then turned to Ellington. "XO, I'll be in my quarters if I am needed. You have the ship."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cylon Space<strong>_  
><em><strong>The Colony<strong>_

* * *

><p>"You destroyed the shuttle before you were in place to do any real damage!?" Cavil exclaimed in frustration at the Leoben model that had been Colonel Conway. "You were the last agent we had in place! Do you know how long it may take to get another in position to destroy this nuisance?" He questioned rhetorically. "On top of all that, you didn't even destroy <em>Pollux<em>! We've essentially handed this Commander Nikitas a perfectly good ship with a perfectly good crew! God, I am surrounded by morons!" The one shouted, rubbing the bridge of his nose._**  
><strong>_

"That's not fair-"

Leoben started to defend himself, but was cutoff by Cavil. "Not fair!? You failed your mission to a level of such extremity that a five year old human could have executed it better. You took out the command crew of _Pollux_, sure, but they can easily be replaced!" Cavil bellowed before with letting out a disappointed sigh. "Two of my best infiltrators and they were both utterly useless. At least eight had a viable excuse. You straight failed. You had ten years and it all agglomerated into this disaster. You wasted ten years." The one stated, letting the Leoben model sulk. It didn't matter to Cavil. "Get out of my sight." Cavil ordered, dismissing his brother with a disappointing wave of his hand. He had had high hopes for the Conway model. He had hoped that, perhaps, the Leoben would have done something smart. Kill all of the bridge crew on _Pollux_ and fly the ship into the _Cerus_. Sabotage both ships discreetly. Even just cripple the battlestar, but no. The Leoben had accomplished practically nothing.

Cavil sighed and began working on another plan. There was always another way. Humans were living on borrowed time. He had all the time in existence.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Author's Note:_** _Just to clarify, Cerus never receives Adama's transmission about meeting at Ragnar Anchorage so Nikitas assumes that they're on their own for the time being, unless they find other Colonial Fleet assets._

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 2:<em> _Saving Grace  
><em>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Six Days After the Attack, Unknown Location<em>**

* * *

><p>Commander Nikitas sighed, allowing himself to slump over after <em>Cerus<em> successfully completed her third faster-than-light jump of the day. The Cylons were getting good at tracking the Valkyrie-class battlestar. This was the fourth consecutive day of _Cerus_ and _Pollux_ encountering the Cylons more than once in a single twenty four hour Caprican day. The Commander was convinced that they had a tracking device set on one of the ships and had ordered both crews to sweep the ship for any suspicious objects, but nothing came up.**_  
><em>**

"Jump complete." Carter reported with a short yawn. Many of the crew weren't getting the sleep they needed, as the ship was in a constant state of condition two, ready to go to condition one at any moment.

Nikitas acknowledged Carter briefly. "Figure out where we are, send out the CAP, and step down to condition two." He ordered the young Picon born man, who nodded his head in response and did as he was told. Attrition rates alone would eventually catch up to them if the Cylons continued to find them. In the last four days, _Cerus_ had lost six Vipers with their pilots and _Pollux_ lost three, leaving the two ragtag ships down nine vital pilots and planes.

"Commander, that report you requested has arrived, sir." Major Ellington, Nikitas' recently appointed XO, reported, handing several pieces of paper to the commanding officer.

The Commander nodded, taking the papers and skimming through them quickly. It was the report on the tylium supply aboard both Cerus and Pollux. The two ships had both been at the end of a deployment and were, figuratively, scraping the bottom of their reserve barrels. Simply put, the two ships were running out of fuel, fast. The estimates put their fuel supply at enough for three more FTL jumps. "That's rather depressing." Nikitas stated blatantly, letting the paper sit on the CIC's center console. "We're need tylium, Major." He said to his XO, a frown on his face.

The Major shrugged and smiled. "We're not going to get any frowning, sir." He joked, gaining no reaction from Nikitas. "Right, well, we haven't searched for any other survivors yet. Perhaps it would be wise if we start doing that. Maybe we'll find a refinery ship or a mining ship or just a fuel tanker, any of those work. And who knows? There may still be some Colonial Fleet ships out there. We can't be the only ones who survived." Ellington explained optimistically.

Nikitas appreciated the sentiment the former engineering officer offered, but sentimentality didn't fuel ships. The Major did bring up a good point, however, about searching for survivors. "I suppose taking a look and finding out if anybody else survived the attacks isn't a bad idea. We need the resources. We're going to start running out of everything aboard this ship. MRE's and bare minimum supplies are only going to cut it for a few months at most." The Commander said with a nod of his head. "Major, I want you to send a Raptor out to the space surrounding every one of the Twelve Colonies. They're to send an encrypted message on all Colonial Fleet frequencies. We can only hope the Cylons won't be listening." He ordered the Major.

"Understood, sir." Ellington responded, before walking over to Lieutenant Carter and starting to organize a plan. They could only pray to the lords that they found others out there.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Two Hours Later<em>**  
><strong><em>Caprica<em>**

* * *

><p>Lieutenant Felix "Oddball" Sage groaned as his Raptor floated aimlessly through the space above Caprica. He had been one of the lucky Raptor pilots chosen to wait around one of the Twelve Colonies in hopes that they'd detect any other survivors, civilian or otherwise. His ECO, Junior Lieutenant Linda "T-Bone" Jameson, sat in the rear, watching the DRADIS screen just as Oddball was.<p>

"Yo, T-Bone, any responses on that message?" Oddball questioned. When they first arrived ten minutes ago, they sent an encrypted message on Colonial only frequencies for any ships to respond.

T-Bone shook her head. "Negative, boss man. Oddball, we got sent on a mission with a zero frakkin' success chance." She added with a sigh. Just as she finished speaking, the Raptor's wireless came to life.

_"This is the tylium refinery ship Jefferson."_ There was a pause as Oddball and T-Bone sat in awe. _"Is anybody even on this frakkin' frequency?"_ The voice questioned, sounding somewhat dejected.

T-Bone quickly got onto her com. "_Jefferson_, this is Raptor 443 of the _Battlestar Cerus_. What is your current location?" The Junior Lieutenant ECO questioned, checking her DRADIS for signs of any contact. For all she knew the ship could be amongst the countless hulks of already destroyed ships that were floating aimlessly in the vicinity of the once flourishing Colony.

There was a pause. Oddball figured the ship was trying to decipher whether this was a Cylon trick or an authentic rescue party. _"Raptor 443, we're currently hidden in the wreckage. Give us the coordinates of your battlestar and we'll jump to its location."_ The _Jefferson's_ captain responded.

"That's a negative. I need visual confirmation that you're an actual ship." Oddball interjected over the com, trying to sound aggressive. "Otherwise we'll be forced to either jump out of system or destroy you." The lead pilot explained to the tylium refinery ship. Cerus and Pollux both desperately needed the supplies the ship more than likely had aboard.

_"Copy that, 443. We're powering up now."_ Suddenly, DRADIS picked up a single contact emerging from a smaller field of ship wreckage. The tylium refining ship slowly made its way towards Raptor 443's position.

Oddball maneuvered his ship to face the oncoming refinery ship and saw that the ship was a legitimate Colonial refining ship. "All right, _Jefferson_, we're sending you the coordinates to our ship. Jump there and report to them that Raptor 443 located you. They're going to be happy to see you. We were running low on tylium." Oddball spoke. They had been extremely low on fuel.

_"Acknowledged. See you on the other side. Jefferson, out."_

Almost as soon as the _Jefferson_ was off DRADIS, two Cylon Raiders showed up, moving on an intercept course towards Oddball and T-Bone's Raptor. "Engage the FTL, T-Bone. We got company." Oddball ordered calmly. The Raiders were far out and it was doubtful they would make it within weapons range by the time the Raptor had jumped back to the makeshift fleet they were forming.

Hopefully, the other Raptor scouts were getting just as lucky as Oddball and T-Bone.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Battlestar Cerus<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Two more ships just jumped into system, sir. One of them is the botanical cruiser <em>Aerilon Spirit<em>. The other is the Cloud-9 passenger liner _Haven_. Combined, they have over five hundred souls aboard their ships." Petty Officer 2nd Class John Bennett reported from the communications station.

That made four civilian ships and three frigates found. The three frigates weren't military, however. They were Aquarian police frigates used by the Colony's police force. They were outfitted with many military systems and weapons, made to combat pirates and other illegal groups. The Oscar-class police frigate, which was the standard ship used by most of the Colony security forces, was equipped with four dual mounted medium turret emplacements, eight ship-to-ship missile launchers, and thirty point defense batteries. The ship was four hundred meters in length, one hundred and fifty meters wide, and was painted a dark blue with white lettering on the side reading 'Aquarian Security'. Their names were _Intrepidous_, _Iustitia_, _Vigilum_.

The ships had taken security positions around the small fleet, helping _Cerus_ and _Pollux_ in their guarding duties. The small civilian fleet of ships consisted of the botanical cruiser _Aerilon Spirit_, Cloud-9 passenger ship _Haven_, the tylium refinery ship _Jefferson_, and finally the Flattop-class repair ship _Savior_. "Very well. Have them fall in line with the other ships." Nikitas ordered, a small smile creeping onto his face. They had found a lot more than he had expected and these were just from four of the twelve human homeworlds.

Surviving ships from the other eight Colonies, if there were any, had yet to arrive. "All has gone well, Commander." Major Ellington stated simply as the two new ships formed up into their fleet of nine ships.

"Let's try not to jinx it. We're still not entirely sure if we've lost the Cylons. I'm surprised they haven't shown up yet." Nikitas explained, eying the DRADIS console suspiciously, as if it was hiding the Cylons from their view. "In ten minutes, we'll be jumping to the new coordinates. Let's hope our Raptors remember that and program in the new coordinates." The Commander stated while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Copy that, sir. Mister Carter, input coordinates for FTL jump. Mister Bennett, order the other ships to do the same." Ellington ordered the tactical officer and communications chief.

Nikitas was surprised by Ellington's quick adjustment from chief of engineering to executive officer. He was performing well above Nikitas' expectations and had made many suggestions and observations that the Commander had not considered prior to him mentioning them. Ellington didn't look it with his bald head and six foot tall, broad frame, but he was turning into a good XO. "Let's wrap operations up. Call in the CAP. As soon as they're aboard, retract the flight pods." Nikitas ordered.

Considering humanity was now an endangered species, things were going well for Cerus and her ragtag fleet. The only thing left to do now was to come up with a long term plan. And Nikitas had something in mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 3:<em> _The Fleet_**

**_Eight Days After the Fall, Battlestar Cerus_**

* * *

><p>Since sending out Raptors to the Twelve Colonies, Nikitas' fleet went from just his battlestar and the Bezerk-class cruiser <em>Pollux<em> to a fleet of seventeen ships, including one other actual military ship. The Bezerk-class cruiser _Charger_ had survived the attacks on Virgon and found two other ships besides herself, the Colonial Fleet prison ship _Forlorn Hope_ and the mining ship _Mahjong_. Asides from those three ships, the ragtag fleet consisted of the three police frigates**_; _**_Intrepidous_, _Iustitia_, _Vigilum_.

_Cerus_, _Pollux_, _Charger_, _Intrepidous_, _Iustitia_, _Vigilum_, and _Forlorn Hope _were the only ships in the fleet with any armaments. _Forlorn Hope_, being just a prison ship, had the lightest armament. It was a large nine hundred and seventy one meter long, barge-like ship armed with eighteen simple point defense cannons, eight military grade ship-to-ship missile batteries, and four heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets. It wasn't much, but any armament was better than no armament.

The civilian ships were the mining ship _Mahjong_, the tylium refining ship _Jefferson_, botanical cruiser _Aerilon Spirit_, botanical cruiser _Bustan_, Cloud-9 passenger liner _Haven_, luxury liner _Dancer_, the two thousand meter long dry dock ship _Hephaestus_, Flattop-class repair ship _Savior_, and two mark I Colonial shuttle craft; _Colonial Shuttle 779_ and _Colonial Shuttle 9762_. No accurate count of total survivors had been given, but estimates put the number at roughly twelve thousand surviving Colonials. Twelve thousand out of a total fifty billion people. "We're lucky, but it's a helluva feeling to be lucky." Nikitas stated to Major Ellington, who nodded in response.

"I hear you, sir. On the one hand, I'm happy there were any survivors, but at the same time it hurts to be a member of an endangered species." Ellington responded, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Twelve thousand people out of fifty billion. It was shocking and excruciating to know that such genocide had taken place in a matter of hours. "All right, XO, let's get rolling." Nikitas spoke, turning to face his tactical officer Junior Lieutenant Carter. "Carter, please come over here." The Commander ordered Carter, who complied immediately.

"Sirs?" Carter questioned, looking at the two senior officers.

"Carter, I'm going to need you to plot a jump past the Red Line to a set of random coordinates." Nikitas explained, hands folded behind his back.

The tactical officer raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I suppose so, sir, but without networked systems or the CNP it's going to be a pretty blind faster-than-light jump." He countered, arms over his chest. The young Lieutenant was right. Jumping beyond explored space could end up with the entire fleet jumping into a sun if even one digit was off. It would take an extreme amount of luck and an even more extreme amount of skill.

The Major also seemed confused. "Are we leaving Colonial space and nobody told me?" The XO asked.

"That's exactly what we're doing, to a degree. I'm not abandoning the worlds, not yet at least. We need time to recuperate and time to continue recovering as many survivors as we can. We are at war and the genocide of our race at the hands of the Cylons will not go unpunished. This ragtag fleet will give those mechanical bastards a black eye they'll never forget." At this point, the Commander had started speaking to the whole of the CIC. "Twelve thousand people. Twelve thousand of fifty billion human lives. That, that will not go unpunished. The toaster fraks will pay dearly for their sins. We were in a golden age, one never seen by the Twelve Colonies of man, and it was taken from us. We were caught off guard with a strong right hook. Well we're going to counter with a swift and utterly devastating strike. We'll bide our time for now, but know this, those lost shall be avenged. So say we all." The CIC erupted into cheering and applause as Nikitas finished his speech.

He needed to inspire his crew. He needed them to know that the Colonials would not go quietly into the night. "Carter, begin fleet-wide preparations for a jump to the nearest planetary system past the Red Line." Nikitas ordered over the cheers of the CIC crew. Carter quickly went to his station and began doing as he was ordered.

"Sir, shuttles from the police frigate _Intrepidous_ and the Cloud-9 ship _Haven_ have requested permission to dock. Both of them have their respected captains aboard." Petty Officer Bennett reported from the communications station.

Nikitas nodded. "Have a marine detail escort them to the wardroom. I'll meet them there. XO, you have the ship." He spoke before walking out of the CIC and turning to head towards the ship's wardroom. He could only assume the two captains wished to discuss the fleet and their roles within it. Nikitas made it to the wardroom before the other two captains, but it only took them several minutes to arrive. "Hello, captains." The Commander greeted the two.

One of them was in a well-ironed black and white uniform with the patch that said _'Haven'_ across it. He was a well groomed man in his late forties, possibly early fifties. His short, well-kept hair had signs of greying. "Good day, Commander. I'm Captain Harvey of the _Haven_." The man introduced himself to the battlestar Commander and shook hands.

The other was shorter and younger than his civilian counterpart. His uniform was black battle dress, very akin to many Colonial Marine uniforms, and had the flag of Aquaria on either shoulder of his battle dress uniform. He wore a black square cap which had red lettering reading 'Security Forces' across it. He looked to be in his thirties and had a captain's insignia on his right breast. "I'm Captain Swafford of the Intrepidous. I'm the highest ranking officer of the remaining Aquarian Security Forces, so I suppose I represent the Security Forces." The man introduced himself with a short salute, which Nikitas politely returned.

"I'll start with you, Captain Harvey. What can I assist you with?"

"I'm here to assist you, more than anything, Commander. We need to speak about civilian government. I've already received several complaints from my upper class passengers. They're wondering how we're going to govern ourselves and I must admit I am curious to know myself." Harvey explained.

Nikitas hadn't even considered civilian government as of yet. When the attacks first started, he had had bigger things to worry about, but now this would become an issue. "I suppose we scour the fleet for any government officials. If none are found, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." The Commander stated, satisfied with his answer.

Harvey, however, did not seem satisfied. He had a short frown and seemed disappointed by the answer. "Sir, I must implore you to rethink that approach. I've already taken the liberty of reviewing passenger manifests of the other ships. No government officials were aboard any of this fleet's ships. The civilian population most be represented. We do make up quite a bit of the remaining human population." The Captain countered Nikitas' answer logically.

The Commander paused to consider his answer. "For now, the captains will represent their crew and passengers. We'll meet once every two weeks. I'll represent the military and the rest of the captains will represent their ships. That's the best short term solution." Nikitas explained. Harvey seemed, at least, somewhat satisfied by that answer. "Now, Captain Swafford, I come to you." Nikitas stated, turning to the officer.

"I need to know what's to be done about the officers under my command, sir. We're not Colonial Fleet, but at the same time we all took an oath to protect the civilian populations. We have ships somewhat capable of fighting, which leads me to believe you want them as assets." Swafford spoke with his arms crossed over his chest and he was leaning against the bulkhead.

"I will admit, your ship has weaponry and armor capable of lasting for a period of time in combat. I understand, however, that you aren't Fleet personnel, which means I have no right to ask of you what I'm about to." Nikitas took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm asking you and your officers to join us. I'm not conscripting you. The civilian population is still going to need security forces. So I propose that you, essentially, become the shore patrol of this fleet. You'll post a small contingency of officers aboard every ship and they'll be the peacekeepers. Your frigates will fight against the Cylons when needed." The Commander outlined his plan to the senior officer.

Swafford nodded his head. "It's a well-thought out plan, sir. With your permission, I'll implement it immediately." The Captain stated, standing up straight from the bulkhead.

"All right, Captain. Go ahead and get to it." Nikitas paused for a moment, staring at the Captain's uniform. "I'll have my marines change their BDU's to the urban combat variant. I don't want your officers to be looked at as marines. The change in uniform will differentiate the two. Never mix police and military." The Commander added before the Captain left the wardroom. "Harvey, if you will act as the liaison between myself and the other ship captains and inform them of the current situation, I would be very pleased." Nikitas requested.

Harvey nodded his head. "Very well, Commander. Thank you. For saving my ship, my crew, and myself." He said with a humble bow before excusing himself and exiting the wardroom, leaving Nikitas to his thoughts. He was definitely transitioning into trying times.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cylon Space<strong>_  
><em><strong>The Colony<strong>_

* * *

><p>Cavil groaned as he went over the report. "Seventeen ships and not a damn one of them with a Cylon agent. How could we have been so sloppy? We're frakkin' machines!" He shouted at one of his subordinates.<p>

"Machines designed to think like humans. We're flawed." Doral explained, arms crossed over his chest. "We're flawed and we can be sloppy. So what? Twelve thousand humans escape? Hardly a bastion of civilization." He added with a half smile.

"It's what they represent. I want them wiped from existence. Cleansed. Deploy the reserve fleet." Cavil ordered hastily.

Doral seemed surprised. "Deploying the reserve fleet will only leave The Colony with a few ships for guard duties. We'd be deploying the older first generation baseships." He said to Cavil who scoffed in response.

"So we'll deploy the old baseships. Hell, deploy the old Centurions for all I care. They're numerous and not doing much else besides sit around collecting dust. Give them something to do while our main fleet is pursuing Galactica and the larger fleet." Cavil stated with a chuckle. This war would be over soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 4:<em> _The Plan_  
><strong>

**_Twelve Days After the Fall, Colonial Solar System Index (CSSI) 009981  
><em>**

* * *

><p>Cerus and her makeshift fleet had, for the last four days, hidden out beyond the Red Line in a planetary system that had a gas planet with an atmosphere that, through radiation, adversely affected Cylon technology. It unfortunately wreaked havoc on DRADIS as well. Commander Nikitas had decided that it would be better if the fleet retreated into the upper atmosphere at the first sign of trouble. <strong><em><br>_**

For now, _Cerus_, _Pollux_, _Charger_, _Intrepidous_, _Iustitia_, and _Vigilum _were situated around the rest of the fleet in a defensive pattern. Each ship capable launched a combat air patrol of three Vipers. _Cerus_, _Pollux_, and _Charger_ all sent out their Vipers. _Charger_, another Bezerk-class cruiser, was commanded by Colonel Trevor Marks, a forty two year old experienced Colonial Fleet member. She had a crew of seven hundred and eleven, having taken losses during the initial attacks.

_Pollux_ had a larger crew of nine hundred and twenty three, but each ship could operate at efficiency for the time being. Nikitas was more worried about attrition rates aboard the military ships. His ship itself was down seventeen pilots and Vipers, leaving Cerus almost a full squadron weaker. Luckily, since initial contact Cerus and her crew had yet to see the Cylons again.

This led the Commander to believe one of two things. One; the Cylons were busy dealing with larger remnants, meaning there was more of the Colonial Fleet still alive. Two; the Cylons were massing for an attack to end it all. Nikitas personally chose to believe the second choice. "Major Ellington." Nikitas stated, bring his executive officer to his side. "Order the three police frigates to escort the civilian fleet into the upper atmosphere of the gas giant and get the commanding officers of the military ships here, including _Forlorn Hope's_ commander." He ordered, surprising the XO.

"Yes, sir." Ellington replied, his voice held a curious tone, but he did not ask the Commander what his plan was. "Petty Officer Bennett, order the police frigates to escort the civilians ships into the gas giant's upper atmosphere. Get the commanders from the Colonial Fleet ships here now." He ordered the young communications specialist who swiftly did as he told.

When the commanders had arrived, they met with Commander Nikitas in the wardroom of _Battlestar Cerus_. From highest rank to lowest it went Commander Nikitas obviously representing the _Cerus_, Colonel Trevor Taylor of the _Charger_, Lieutenant Colonel Moore of the _Pollux_, and Major Jeffery Collins of the prison ship _Forlorn Hope_. "I have gathered you all here because what I wish to do will require all available men, women, cannons, and ships that I have at my disposal. I wish to attack the Cylons." He explained, letting his final statement sink in with the rest of them.

"Have you gone insane, sir?" Colonel Taylor asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Colonel, reserve yourself. At least until I've finished outlining my plan." Nikitas stated calmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Taylor hesitated for a moment before nodding his head, allowing the Commander to continue speaking. "Many of our ships are relatively understaffed. Major Collins, how many prisoners are aboard _Forlorn Hope_?" He questioned.

The Major looked somewhat surprised, but answered anyway. "One thousand five hundred and seventy three. All of them for relatively minor violations against the Colonial Fleet, the Colonial Air Force, the Colonial Army, and the Colonial Marines. Theft, blackmail, so on. They're the rejects of the armed forces. _Forlorn Hope_ doesn't have any murders or sexual predators. We hold the men and women who are sentenced to five to ten years of labor." Collins explained.

"Do you believe that they deserve to be offered parole in a time of war?" Nikitas asked, shocking the entire room.

Collins nodded. "I believe many of them are. I think most of them understand the gravity of the situation humanity is in." The young Major explained.

Nikitas sighed. "Very well. I will offer them full pardons on the grounds that they return to the Colonial Fleet as respectful crewmembers. Anybody found violating militaristic laws will be thrown back into their cells with much longer sentences. That's the best I can give them." The Commander stated.

"Do you really think that's wise, Commander? Having a bunch of fugitives prancing around the last remaining military ships?" Colonel Taylor questioned, his voice holding trace hints of contempt towards the Commander.

The Commander turned to face the Colonel. "I'm sorry, Taylor, but unless you're hiding a ship full of reinforcements those fifteen hundred men and women will bring our ships up to full strength. You have a problem with that, fine, I'll leave your ship understaffed, but don't complain to me when the Cylons are sending a barrage of hell towards your piddly ass cruiser and you don't have enough gunners to put up a decent flak field." Nikitas stated in anger, causing the Colonel to shrink in retreat. "Anybody else have any reservations about that?" He questioned, looking at each of the ship captains. None of them spoke. "Good. Now, back to hitting the Cylons. We've learned from the attacks that the Cylons have reverted their weapons systems to mainly use missile launchers. That may actually give us an advantage in battle." He paused to walk up to the podium of the wardroom.

"These missiles are high yield. Colonial missiles have nothing on these warheads. I propose we jump into range of Canceron. It's the most likely Colony to have survivors still on the surface. Reports indicate that the Colony was only hit by three nuclear weapons. As much as I would love to save people from every Colony, I do have an ulterior motive. Canceron had on its surface a Colonial Fleet ship breaking yard for old Colonial Fleet vessels dating all the way back to before the First Cylon War." Nikitas explained. "The point behind me tell you about the missiles is this. I am going to jump the _Cerus_ into the space surrounding Canceron and attract the attention of any Cylons in the area. _Charger_ and _Pollux_ will have also jumped in, but much further out than my ship. When I send the order you will perform an in system jump." This left them shocked.

"Nobody's pulled a move like that off in forty plus years. Not since the First War." Lieutenant Colonel Stacey Moore, the Commander's former XO, stated with her hands held behind her back.

Nikitas smirked. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, _Charger_ and _Pollux_ will jump in behind the baseships that are engaged with my ship. We can take hits, but not for long so Moore and Marks, you're going to have to make the calculations for those FTL jumps fast. Combined we'll destroy those baseships. They won't be able to use those missiles at such a close range, at least not without destroying their own assets. It will be costly, but if we pull it off we'll have access to numerous ships and, hopefully, crews to use them." He explained his plan, as outlandish as it may have sounded, with confidence. The Commander truly believed this to be plausible.

"This is a huge gamble, sir." Colonel Taylor stated incredulously.

Nikitas understood the man's reservations towards this plan, but he knew in his heart that it would succeed. He didn't know how or why, but it would succeed. "I understand, Colonel. And yes, this is an all or nothing plan. I know it may seem like we cannot afford to do this, but Canceron was a major Colonial Fleet asset before the attacks. Fleet personnel may still be hidden away in fallout shelters, biding their time or awaiting a rescue that may never come. My subconscious isn't going to let me leave those people behind. This is my decision to make. If any of you wish to not participate, you may stay behind and guard the fleet." He explained.

Everybody stood firm and, after she exchanged a look with all of the commanding officers, Lieutenant Colonel Moore stepped forward. "Sir, we're with you." She responded with a swift salute, which Nikitas returned.

"All of you get back to your ships and begin preparations. We launch in two days." Nikitas said to the three.

"Do you mean to say my ship's coming too, sir?" Major Collins questioned.

"Correct. Once we distribute the prisoners, your ship is going to be awfully empty. We'll use it to transport any survivors we find off planet. You'll jump in, initially, with _Charger_ and _Pollux_, but you and your ship will hang back while we take care of the Cylons." Nikitas responded to the young man's question. "Speaking of which, you're going to have a lot of transfers to oversee. I'll send over a list of what Cerus is deathly in need of. Colonel Marks, Lieutenant Colonel Moore, do the same. Fifteen hundred is a lot of souls to transfer." He explained before dismissing the three.

A lot would be happening in the next few days. If everything went to plan, they would successfully strike the Cylons in an offensive operation. You could run away from the schoolyard bullies, but the minute you turn around and hit them they'll rethink their approach.


	5. Chapter 5

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 5:<em> _The Plan_,_ Part II_  
><strong>

**_Fourteen Days After the Fall, Colonial Solar System Index (CSSI) 009981_**

* * *

><p>Commander Nikitas sighed as he eyed the DRADIS console one last time. Thanks to the interference from the gas giant that existed, the civilian fleet was completely invisible from DRADIS scans. Cylons would need to use the old fashioned mark one eyeball to find the fleet and even than they'd need to go into the upper atmosphere of the gas giant. <strong><em><br>_**

Hopefully, _Cerus_ and her makeshift battlegroup would be back sooner rather than later. Nikitas had instructed Captain Swafford to escort the civilian fleet out into the depths of space, in search of a new home, if the battlegroup hadn't returned in three day's time. "Sir, all decks report condition one set. All other ships are set and ready to jump." Petty Officer Bennett reported from the communications station.

"Very well." Nikitas stated, reaching for the fleetwide wireless. "This is the Commander, all ships prepare for jump. Pilots, get to your planes and prepare to engage enemy combatants. Let's show these metal frakkers just who we are and what we've lost." He paused and smiled in satisfaction. It felt good to actually be going on an offensive operation, even if it was a gamble.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Viper Pilot Captain Adrian "Blackjack" Eriksson<em>**

* * *

><p>Captain Adrian 'Blackjack' Eriksson sprinted through the corridor, heading straight for the hangar deck and to his mark VII Viper fighter plane. He had a mixture of emotions going through him, at the moment. The Captain was a native of Canceron and knew he would see the death and destruction the Cylons had caused, but he also knew that they were taking the fight to the Cylons. He had traces of eagerness, nervousness, and despair all mixed together. The recently appointed CAG forced those emotions down as he entered the hangar deck room and slid down the ladder leading down to the hangar deck. He quickly joined the pilots under his command in the cockpit, ready to wage war. He was ready for this.<p>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cerus CIC<strong>_

* * *

><p>Nikitas had ordered the jump and it had gone just as planned. <em>Pollux<em>, _Charger_, and _Forlorn Hope_ were all roughly half-an-hour away from Canceron when using sub-light engines while _Cerus_, who had jumped in closer to the planet, was only five minutes away from the Colony. "DRADIS contacts. Two Cylon baseships launching multiple Raiders." Lieutenant Carter reported to the Commander. "Our Vipers are away." He added.

"All right. Order all Vipers to engage the Cylon Raiders and go weapons free. Leave the baseships to us." The Commander ordered, arms crossed over his chest. "Order all batteries to target the basestar's center axis. Have point defense cannons setup a flak field around the ship. I don't want any missiles making it through." Nikitas added to his original order. All _Cerus_ needed to do was holdout long enough to gain the Cylons full attention. Then, he would jump his cruisers into position and destroy his enemy.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Viper Pilot Captain Adrian "Blackjack" Eriksson<em>**

* * *

><p>Blackjack grimaced as he flipped his plan around to engage a Cylon Raider that had been on his tail since he first started the engagement with his fellow pilots. He fired several short controlled bursts, leaving the Raider's left wing severed and the rest of the machine floating uselessly. "Scratch one." He unconsciously said into his wireless com.<strong><em><br>_**

_"Blackjack, Ares, I've got one on my tail! Requesting assistance!"_ The Captain's wingman, Junior Lieutenant Kevin 'Ares' Jackson, reported, panic in his voice.

Blackjack quickly maneuvered to assist. "Be there in one second, Ares." He stated, but it was too late. Ares' Viper was quickly destroyed by the obviously superior Cylon designed fighter. He sighed before moving on to the next Raider. He couldn't focus on the losses, not yet. That was for when he wasn't on the job. The Captain could only hope his pilots suffered minimal losses.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cerus CIC<strong>_

* * *

><p>Nikitas braced himself against the center console as his ship shook, another Cylon missile making it through the Valkyrie-class battlestar's flak field. "Sir, I believe we are fully engaged with the Cylon ships. Perhaps it's time to play our trump card." Major Ellington suggested the Commander, who nodded in response.<p>

"Very well. Mister Bennett, please inform our reinforcements that we could use some assistance." Nikitas stated simply. Within seconds of Bennett sending the transmission, the two Bezerk-class cruisers had exited faster-than-light behind the Cylon basestars, immediately firing their heavy weapon payloads into the basestars. The flanking maneuver had worked almost flawlessly.

One of the basestars was attempting to withdraw, its hull scorched and aflame from the barrages of the combined firepower of the three ships. The other basestar's sub-light engines had been devastated and the ship was barely in one piece. The Raiders were still a problem, but the flak field of _Cerus_ and her Vipers were diminishing the number of Cylon fighters gradually.

Suddenly, warning klaxons wailed, sending the CIC crew into a frenzy. "Radiological alarm! The baseship must be launching every nuke they have!" Carter reported, visibly panicked, from his station.

"Oh frak." Ellington stated simply, staring up at DRADIS blankly. The battlestar's Vipers swarmed the warheads, successfully intercepting and destroying eight of the ten launched. Soaring through the battlestar's flak field with ease, the nukes impacted the once mighty warship. One nuke clipped the topside of the ship, sending a section of armor plating shooting off into space. The other impacted the forward part of the alligator head, leaving minor damage. Neither of them caused no decompression in any area of the battlestar and the ship's hull was stable.

The nukes simply added to the scars _Cerus_ was collecting. After Carter had reported to the CO and XO that the nukes had caused minimal damage to the hull, Nikitas let out a sigh of relief. "That was a frakkin' miracle..." He stated aloud, running a hand over his dirty blonde hair.

"So say we all." Ellington muttered in response.

"Call all of our Vipers back to the nest. Get them reloaded and refueled, and put them back into the tubes. Don't want to be caught with our pants down by a Cylon attack fleet. Contact Forlorn Hope and order them down to the surface." Nikitas ordered rapidly. They were running on a short amount of earned time. He had no idea how long it would take the Cylons to react to the attack, but he was going to get as much done in the short amount of time that they had.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cylon Space<strong>_  
><em><strong>The Colony<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Reports from the recently resurrected indicate a Colonial force above Canceron. Three ships, one battlestar. We presume it's the Battlestar Cerus." Model Two, Leoben, explained to the Model One Cavil that was currently in charge.<p>

Cavil smirked in response. "I can only assume they're attempting to rescue civilians. How noble." He muttered, the smirk never leaving his wrinkled and worn face. "Let them. We have proven ineffective, so far, in destroying humanity. If we can at least consolidate the remnants. If they recover any refugees, that will just mean when the hammer comes down, they'll be wiped out in one strike." The Cylon explained, arms folded behind his back.

"As you command. I shall inform the response fleet to stand down." Leoben stated, walking away from Cavil. Cavil grimaced. Things would go as plan. Whether the Colonials liked it or not.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Cerus Starboard Hangar Deck<br>**_

* * *

><p>Nikitas was now dressed in his Colonial Fleet urban battle dress and was accompanied by a small Marine contingent. The shore party from <em>Cerus<em>, which Nikitas would be leading personally, consisted of four Raptors. They would be accompanying _Forlorn Hope _to the surface and assist in rescue operations. The former prison ship would land forty kilometers from the capital city of Hades. The landing zone picked was only three kilometers from a large military installation and ship-breaking yard known as the Perses Shipyards.

Perses Shipyards was a major shipbuilding facility, as well as a major ship-breaking yard. They built many of the battlestars used by the Colonial Fleet, including _Cerus_ herself. The Commander was handed a rifle and several magazines of ammo by one of the Marines. The Marine who had handed him the weapon was Gunnery Sergeant Jack Nelson, the highest ranking non-commissioned officer on the ship. _Cerus_ had lost most of her Marine officers in the opening of the attacks, leaving several non-coms in higher command positions.

Gunnery Sergeant Nelson would be assisting Nikitas in leading the Marine ground party. Alongside the Marines and Nikitas, the new chief of engineering, Lieutenant David O'Neil, and a group of engineers and deckhands would be accompanying them to the surface to determine the ships best suited for activation. Chief Petty Officer Henry Paxton, the lead deckhand of Cerus, would also be on the surface.

Nikitas, before heading down to the hangar deck, had broadcasted on all Colonial channels that they would be beginning rescue operations on Canceron's surface and stated that civilians should respond to the broadcast or begin transmitting S.O.S. signals. He had, of course, broadcasted Colonial recognition codes along with the broadcast in hopes that skeptics would look at the codes and realize that this was an actual rescue mission.

It was going to take every shuttle and Raptor _Cerus_ and _Forlorn Hope_ had at their disposal. _Forlorn Hope_ had, for mass prisoner transit, three atmospheric shuttles with a total passenger capacity of one hundred and twenty people. The three shuttles, along with Raptors, would transport any survivors from the surface back to the former prison ship.

Nikitas climbed into the Raptor and immediately went to the forward where Junior Lieutenant Gerald 'Thrasher' Aldinger sat, readying his ship for transit. "We good to go, son?" Nikitas questioned the young twenty something Raptor jockey.

"Aye, sir. Ship's preflight check is done and we're ready for skids off any moment." Thrasher responded to the Commander who nodded and took his seat next to Chief Paxton and Gunnery Sergeant Nelson. "All right, we're good to go!" Thrasher stated from the cockpit, placing the helmet to his flight suit on and making sure it was airtight.

Several minutes later, the Raptor was entering the atmosphere of Canceron, heading straight for the landing sight where_ Forlorn Hope_ was already beginning operations. The prison ship had landed roughly ten minutes prior and secured the immediate area. _Forlorn Hope_ carried the most Colonial Marines in the makeshift fleet with three hundred and sixty six total Marines aboard the ship.

Chatter over the wireless was transmitted over the Raptor's internal speakers for all of the passengers to hear. _"This is shuttle one, we've located a fallout shelter within Hades city. Beginning rescue operation for roughly thirty civilians. Will be back on site in ten mikes."_ The pilot of one of the shuttles from Forlorn Hope reported.

_"Raptor 442 here. Found a group of military personnel hiding out in a mountain range. Requesting shuttle two for pickup. According to them, they have seventeen Colonial Army troops, thirty six reservists, and forty nine civilians. Transmitting coordinates now."_ The Raptor pilot reported. 442 was a Raptor based out of _Forlorn Hope_.

Suddenly, a static filled transmission came through. _"This is Raptor 391, Cylon foot mobiles spotted within the downtown Hades area. Avoid downtown at all costs, I repeat, avoid downtown."_ The pilot stated calmly.

It only took two minutes for Thrasher's Raptor to touch down next to the massive prison transport. _Forlorn Hope_, built to accommodate thousands, was nine hundred and fifty three meters in length and two hundred and thirty one meters in width. Nikitas stepped off the Raptor while the Marines charged out, Nelson ordering them to assist the Marines from _Forlorn Hope_ in setting up a perimeter.

The Commander, accompanied by Lieutenant O'Neil and Chief Paxton, approached Major Collins who was coordinating radio operators in responding to civilian broadcasts. "Sir." Collins acknowledged him with a short salute before returning to work.

"What's our status?" Nikitas questioned quickly. He wanted to be off planet as soon as possible.

"We've got a Raptor analyzing the shipyards now." Collins paused to assist one of his crewmen before continuing. "Three ships have been suggested for possible return to service. A Sobek-class battlestar, an old Olduvai-subclass battlestar, and a Valkyrie-class battlestar. All of them are in one piece and will need minimal work to get them up and running. They were all active, but in storage awaiting official decommissioning. They hadn't started the scrapping process before the attacks happened." He explained to the Commander.

Nikitas turned to O'Neil and Paxton. "Get back to the Raptor and tell Thrasher to get the bird prepped. I'll be there in a second. We'll be going to analyze the ships." The Commander told the two who both nodded, saluted, and ran back to the Raptor. "How many people have we found?" He questioned the young Major.

"Three hundred and sixty three so far. Fifty three military. Day's not over yet, though." Collins responded.

"Very well, Major. Keep rescuing whoever you can. I want to be off planet by the end of the day." Nikitas explained, leaving the Major to his work. The Commander jogged to the Raptor, which engines were just now powering up. Nikitas entered the Raptor and secured the hatch. "Let's get going, Thrasher." He ordered simply. Thrasher nodded and lifted off, heading straight for the shipyards. It was a very short flight, but he couldn't afford for time to be wasted.

The three battlestars, all relatively older battleships, were sitting in an empty area of the shipyards. The active ship storage of Perses Shipyards only contained three ships at a time, generally battlestars or other larger, more valuable ships. All of the ship's cannons were still aboard, but they had no ammo within their magazines.

The Sobek-class battlestar, more modern of the three, was commissioned twenty years ago as a replacement to the older Galactica-class battlestars, the Olduvai-subclass battlestar was a subclass of the Galactica-class produced during the first war, and the Valkyrie-class was a stock Valkyrie-class. "This is too convenient..." Nikitas muttered under his breath. Three battlestars just ripe for the taking and the Cylons still hadn't shown up. Something wasn't right.

"Frak it. Thrasher, get on the horn to Collins. I'm going to need any available crewmembers he can spare to get these ships out of orbit and back to the fleet." Nikitas ordered.

"Copy that. _Forlorn Hope_ actual this is Raptor 221, please respond." Thrasher spoke over the wireless, waiting for a response.

Static came through before the actual message. _"Raptor 221, Forlorn Hope actual, go ahead."_ Collins' voice responded to Thrasher's message.

"Commander Nikitas is requesting any crewmen you can spare to help crew the three derelict battlestars." Thrasher explained to the Major.

A sigh came through. _"Tell the Commander that I'm running low on spare crewmembers. I suggest he also send crew from his own ship. We're going to need at least a hundred and fifty crew to staff each of the ships to get them out of atmosphere and back to the fleet."_ Collins reported to the Raptor.

"Hear that, sir?" Thrasher questioned the Commander as he was landing the Raptor next to the ships.

Nikitas nodded. "Copy that. Contact _Cerus_ and the other ships and tell them the same frakkin' thing. I don't care who they send, but we need able bodied people immediately. I want to leave soon." He explained to the Junior Lieutenant as the Raptor touched down. Nikitas opened the hatch and exited the Raptor. "Chief Paxton, analyze the Valkyrie-class, Lieutenant O'Neil, take the Olduvai-class. I'll take a look at the Sobek-class. Collins already has his deckhands crawling inside these ships." He stated before moving to the Sobek-class.

The Sobek-class, its name missing from either of its flight pods (indicating it had been stricken from the Colonial Fleet registry), was in a makeshift ground docking moor with several large thrusters attatched to it to assist with getting the large ship off of the ground. The ship was one thousand and fifty one meters in length and four hundred and seventy one meters in width.

There was a large ramp attatched to the port flight pod, leading up into the ship. Nikitas jogged up the ramp where he was greeted by two Marines and a deckhand.

The deckhand had the insignia of a Chief Petty Officer, leading Nikitas to assume that the man was _Forlorn Hope's_ deck chief. "Good day, sir. I'm assuming we're on a tight schedule so I'll give you the shortened tour." The Chief explained. "We've got the reactor up and running. There's a huge tylium tank underneath the shipyard so we're filling the ships with fuel as we speak. Assuming there's no leaks or shortages, we'll be ready to go in an hour. They forgot to empty several storage rooms of MRE's. Water tanks are empty, unfortunately. The light and computers are powering up as we speak." The deckhand stated, leading the Commander into the belly of the former workhorse of the Colonial Fleet.

The Sobek-class had been the lead battlestar of the Fleet up until ten years ago when the larger, more advanced Mercury-class began phasing the ship out of favor. "Armaments?" Nikitas asked simply.

"Twenty heavy anti-ship turrets, two guns per turret, fourteen ship-to-ship missile launchers, four hundred and fifty four point defense batteries. She's got a hell of a flak field when she fires. Served on the original _Sobek_ before she was decommissioned five years ago." The Chief explained to Nikitas.

Nikitas nodded. "Viper complement?" He questioned.

"The ship can easily carry six Viper squadrons of twenty and thirty Raptors. We'd probably be able to fit eight Viper squadrons like the Galactica-class if we used Viper racks." The Chief responded. "There's at least three squadrons worth of Vipers in this shipyard. Probably older ships. Mark II's, III's, IV's, V's, maybe even some mark VI's in the bunch. It'll be ragtag, but we'll begin getting those Vipers aboard. We located several trucks designed to transport smaller crafts. We can get ten Vipers onto each truck via the cranes and transport them into this flight pod. Once we're back with the fleet, we'll start putting together squadrons and what have you." He added to his original answer.

"All right. Get the engines ready to go and the FTL drive tested as soon as possible. I want to be off this rock soon. Something gives me a bad feeling about all of this. It's too easy." Nikitas added, pausing to look around before following the Chief further into the ship. Something just didn't sit right with him...


	6. Author's Chapter

Author's Chapter!

Hello all, I'm ecstatic that you are all enjoying The Remnants storyline so far. This is just a brief explanation of the military ships within the remnant fleet. It's just a rundown to act as a reference for all of you who may get confused. I'll start with the one we're most familiar with so far. Keep in mind, these are modified by me since it is my story and my choice. Armaments will be changed to what I see fit.

Cerus-subclass Battlestar - The Cerus-subclass Battlestar is a variation of a standard Valkyrie-class Battlestar. The ship is 1,053 meters in length and 275 meters in width. The armament is as follows; thirty eight ship-to-ship missile batteries, twenty medium dual mounted turrets, and exactly two hundred and forty kinetic point-defense weapons. _Cerus_ has a current crew complement of 946 men and women and 63 Vipers.

Berzerk-class Cruiser - The Berzerk-class cruiser is a support ship used to escort larger battleships into battle. The two within the fleet are _Pollux_ and _Charger_. The ship is 842 meters in length and 215 meters in width. The armament is as follows; fourteen heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets, twenty medium dual mounted turrets, and one hundred and thirty two point defense weapons. _Pollux_ has a current crew complement of 715 men and women and one squadron of 14. _Charger_ has a current crew complement of 849 men and women and one squadron of 18 Vipers.

Valkyrie-class Battlestar - The Valkyrie-class Battlestar is a stock Battlestar class. The ship is 649 meters in length and 235 meters in width. The armament is as follows; six ship-to-ship missile batteries, thirty three heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets, eighteen medium dual mounted turrets, and exactly two hundred and twelve kinetic point defense weapons. At maximum capacity, the ship can carry 1,320 men and women and 60 Vipers.

Olduvai-subclass Battlestar - The Olduvai-subclass Battlestar is a subclass of the Galactica-class Battlestar. The ship is 1,315 meters in length and 521 meters in width. The armament is as follows; twenty two heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets, eighteen ship-to-ship missile batteries, and five hundred and two point defense batteries. At maximum capacity, the ship can carry 3,400 men and women and 140 Vipers.

Sobek-class Battlestar - The Sobek-class Battlestar is a class developed between the wars. Commissioned twenty years after the First Cylon War ended, the ship was one of the first Battlestars with peacetime considerations in mind. The ship is 1,151 meters in length and 379 meters in width. The armament is as follows; twenty heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets, fourteen ship-to-ship missile batteries, and four hundred and fifty four point defense batteries. At maximum capacity, the ship can carry 2,850 men and women and 100 Vipers.

This is just to keep everybody up to date with the military ship classes. More may come in the future, I'm not entirely sure. I have a rough idea of what I want this story to become, but that's a secret to all of you.


	7. Chapter 6

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 6:<em> _Diminishing Supplies_  
><strong>

**_Twenty Eight Days After the Fall, Colonial Solar System Index (CSSI) 009981_**

* * *

><p>CSSI 009981 was still relatively safe and had not been located by the Cylon fleet as of yet. The operation on Canceron had taken twelve hours and was a complete success. The enemy fleet around the Colony was destroyed, three battlestars had been added to the Remnant Fleet, and over three thousand men and women had been saved, including five hundred and thirty four Colonial military.<p>

It had taken them fourteen days and a lot of what seemed to be nonstop work, but the three ships had been restored to active service and rechristened. The two thousand meter long dry dock ship _Hephaestus _had done much of the work needed and the crew had worked through the night several times. They wanted the three ships back into service just as much as Commander Nikitas wanted._  
><em>

The only problem with the ships, however, was that they didn't have several vital things needed. Water and ammo being the two major ones, food being second, and proper crew being the third. Nikitas had pulled all of the one thousand five hundred and seventy three former prisoners that had been aboard Forlorn Hope off their assignments and onto those ships. He had, of course, mixed in crewmembers. Currently, the ranking officers aboard those ships consisted of the newly promoted Colonel Stacey Moore, the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Solyst, who had been the XO aboard _Charger_, and the newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Collins. Colonel Moore's XO aboard _Pollux_, Captain Aaron Ferguson, had taken command and was promoted to Major. Colonel Taylor, the CO of _Charger_, had been distraught that the Commander had chosen Solyst over him to command the Valkyrie-class battlestar.

The new battlestars had been rechristened by Commander Nikitas personally. The Olduvai-class battlestar, which was the heaviest armed and armored, had been named _Atromitos_, which was old Caprican for Fearless. The Sobek-class battlestar, which was lighter than Atromitos, but still strong enough to hold her own, was named _Erebus_ after the God of darkness and shadows. The Valkyrie-class, the lightest armed and armored of the three restored ships, was named _Atlas_ in honor of the Titan forced to carry the heavens upon his shoulders.

Nikitas had not chosen the names alone. The Commander had personally chosen _Atromitos_, but Lieutenant Colonel Collins, a native to Gemenon, had suggested the other two ship names and Nikitas had agreed. The Remnant Fleet now had for her protection the _Atromitos_, _Cerus_, _Erebus_, _Atlas_, _Pollux_, and _Charger_.

The three battlestars were useless without ammo. Which meant that Nikitas needed to return to the Twelve Colonies of Kobol yet again. The relatively small magazine that _Forlorn Hope_ had had been emptied and transferred to _Atlas_. _Forlorn Hope_ was equipped with eighteen simple point defense cannons, eight military grade ship-to-ship missile batteries, and four heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets. It wasn't much, but the ship had a full magazine.

The magazine had been transferred, along with all nonessential personnel from the prison ship, to the three battlestars. Now, a skeleton crew of one hundred and seventy one of the original six hundred and fifty seven aboard _Forlorn Hope_ ran the ship. The prison ship was being used as a supply ship, carrying extra Vipers and Viper parts, foodstuffs, and many other miscellaneous things.

The new battlestars each had a crew of over eight hundred with the five hundred from _Forlorn Hope_, the fifteen hundred prisoners, and the five hundred or so Colonial military personnel rescued from Canceron. The battlestars were missing trained personnel such as deckhands, engineers, pilots, and so on. That meant training programs to bring the crew up to Colonial Fleet standards. Nikitas had transferred several heads of the departments aboard _Cerus_ to those ships to assist in the training programs.

Nikitas had also made a controversial call. It hadn't been a popular move when he had announced, but it needed to be done for the good of the defense of the fleet. The Commander had instituted a draft for anyone between the ages of sixteen and twenty two. A mandatory two year service would be set for the draftees and if they wanted to stay in, they'd be welcomed with open arms. Unless a draftee had a vital position aboard his civilian ship, he would be trained on and serve aboard one of the recently restored battlestars.

The Commander sighed as Major Jack Ellington took his place next to his CO in _Cerus'_ CIC. "Good morning, Commander." Ellington stated, emphasizing the Commander.

Nikitas thought nothing of it as he took a sip of coffee from his white mug. "Morning, Jack. Go ahead and check on the CAP." He ordered the XO who nodded in response.

Ellington did as he was told before turning back to the Commander. "Sir, the CO's of all the other ships are in the wardroom. They're requesting your presence." The Major explained, causing Nikitas to look at him in confusion.

"I wasn't informed they were coming aboard." Nikitas paused before hesitantly nodding his head. "Very well. The ship is yours. I'll be back when I see what they want." The Commander explained while heading out of the CIC.

It took him several minutes to reach the wardroom where the commanding officers of _Atromitos_, _Cerus_, _Erebus_, _Atlas_, _Pollux_, and _Charger _were standing in. They all saluted him, which the Commander returned, before speaking to him. Colonel Moore stepped up in front of him, hands held behind her back. "Sir, it's come to our attention that you are out of uniform." She stated, causing Nikitas to look at her with a confused look on his face. Moore pulled her hands from behind her back and revealed a small black box. "An officer who commands multiple ships is generally considered an admiral." The Colonel explained, handing the box to the Commander.

Nikitas' eyes went wide as he opened the box, revealing a set of Rear Admiral insignias. He looked up at them, holding the small box tightly in his hands. "Thank you. Thank you all. Times are tough, but I promise you I will keep this fleet safe until the day I pass onto the Fields of Elysium." The recently promoted Rear Admiral stated, keeping his thank you brief. He appreciated this, but it was nothing more than a happy moment in a depressing apocalyptic-like universe. Problems were still there, but he had something to renew his happiness. "Let's get back to work. We need to replenish our ammo reserves, which means returning to the Colonies. I need to get a plan together, but we'll find a way to persevere. Dismissed." The Rear Admiral explained with a salute.

The CO's filed out of the wardroom, leaving Nikitas alone with his thoughts. The Picon born Rear Admiral walked to the whiteboard of the wardroom and picked up a dry erase marker. He began outlining his plan to replenish their supplies. It would take some work.


	8. Chapter 7

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 7: Returning Home<em>  
><strong>

**_Twenty Eight Days After the Fall, Colonial Solar System Index (CSSI) 009981_**

* * *

><p>It was late evening according to standard Caprican time, but that didn't matter to the recently promoted Rear Admiral. Nikitas had spent many hours trying to figure out where he'd find years worth of ammo for three battlestars. Then, he remembered about the relics from the First Cylon Wars, the three ammo stations spread across Colonial space. Ragnar Anchorage, Hestia Anchorage, and Ophion Anchorage.<p>

Hestia Anchorage had been destroyed in the opening attacks when Battlestar Group 39, led by the _Triton_, attempted to defend the station from the Cylon fleet. Ragnar Anchorage's status was unknown. The only station that he knew had been active even during the attacks was Ophion Anchorage. When _Cerus_ had escaped the attack on Scorpia, Ophion, the gas giant in the same solar system as Scorpia, had been completely avoided by the Cylons.

This led Nikitas to believe that Ophion Anchorage was unknown to the Cylons and, therefor, not destroyed in the initial attacks. The Rear Admiral had called all the ship commanders back into the wardroom of his flagship, _Cerus_.

Slowly, the commanding officers of each of the military ships arrived in the wardroom until finally all of them were assembled. Colonel Moore of the Olduvai-class battlestar _Atromitos_, Colonel Taylor of the Berzerk-class cruiser _Charger_, Lieutenant Colonel Collins of the Sobek-class battlestar _Erebus_, Lieutenant Colonel Solyst of the Valkyrie-class battlestar _Atlas_, and Major Aaron Ferguson of the Berzerk-class cruiser _Pollux_ all stood in the wardroom, awaiting the Rear Admiral's words.

"Good evening." Nikitas greeted them. They responded with a chorus of spirited greetings. "Let's get right to it. As those of you aboard the recently rechristened battlestars know, we're running low on a couple vital resources. One of them being ammo. I understand that _Atlas_ received _Forlorn Hope's_ magazine. Roughly how long would you say that ammo will last?" The Rear Admiral questioned Solyst.

The Lieutenant Colonel frowned before stepping forward. "It might last us two months if we use the rounds sparingly. We have next to no Tungsten Carbide heavy turret rounds, leaving us defenseless when it comes to dealing with armored targets. We have a decent amount of flak shells and enough ammo for the point defense guns, but my ship's magazine is still relatively empty." Solyst explained with his hands folded behind his back.

The Rear Admiral nodded his head in understanding. "Understood. _Cerus_, _Charger_, and _Pollux_ all have relatively full magazines. I know _Cerus_ has enough rounds to last for several years, according to current amount of usage. I suspect both _Charger_ and _Pollux_ are in similar situations. I do have a solution to our ammo problems. Ophion Anchorage." Colonel Taylor went wide eyed and spoke up.

"Sir, the likely hood that Ophion Anchorage is still active is sub-par. We should scavenge what we can off of the destroyed battlestars and escorts around the Colonies. Those ships are our best option when it comes to supplies." Taylor explained.

Nikitas nodded. "I can understand how you may believe that, Colonel, but do you really believe that the munitions aboard those ships are still in one piece? The Cylons don't make many mistakes when they have there mechanical hands around your throat. They crush until your dead. It's likely they nuked every hulk twice just to be sure. The surviving munitions and other supplies still on those ships, if there are any, may very well be contaminated. Quite honestly, I cannot risk the safety of my people on a low possibility. Cerus was in the Helios Gamma solar system when the attacks started. Ophion wasn't even looked at by the Cylon fleet. My firm belief is that the Ophion Anchorage is still active." The Rear Admiral countered the Colonel who simply shook his head.

"And if it isn't?" Taylor asked with a raised brow.

"Then we move on." Nikitas stated, frustration in his voice. He was tired of Taylor being so outspoken against his ideas. As much as the Colonel may not have liked it, Nikitas was the flag officer of this fleet. That gave him the authority to do whatever he pleased without being questioned by his subordinates. "As I was saying... Ammo isn't the only thing we're running low on. Tylium and water are both major concerns. Estimates say that we have about three months of water and six months of tylium remaining throughout the fleet." He paused, letting that statement sink in. "_Cerus_ and _Pollux_ are the only two ships with seventy five percent or more of their water tank filled. _Colonial Shuttle 779 _and _Colonial Shuttle 9762, _the Flattop-class repair ship _Savior_, and the dry dock ship _Hephaestus _were not designed for long voyages. They'll have to tank off _Cerus_ periodically to keep them supplied with fresh water. Simply put, we need water." He explained with his arms crossed over his chest._  
><em>

Recently promoted Lieutenant Colonel Collins responded to this. "Why not have Atromitos, Erebus, and Atlas send out all the Raptors they have aboard to begin surveying nearby systems for water while _Cerus_, _Charger_, and _Pollux_ search and secure Ophion Anchorage? Then, you can send a Raptor back to the fleet and report the all clear, sir." The Lieutenant Colonel suggested. Colonel Moore muttered an agreement. Major Ferguson simply nodded his head.

"Nice idea, Collins, but we'll wait to begin the search for water. Need to focus on one thing at a time for the time being." Nikitas explained to Collins. "Taylor, Ferguson, get your ships ready to jump. _Cerus_ will transfer the FTL coordinates to you. You are all dismissed. See you on the other side." The Rear Admiral stated with a salute as the officers filed out of the wardroom. After this operation, the only thing left to decide was the Remnant Fleet's course of action.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Twenty Nine Days After the Fall, Helios Gamma Solar System<em>**

* * *

><p>Rear Admiral Axel Nikitas stood in the CIC of his flagship, watching DRADIS intently as two blips appeared on the screen, identifying themselves as the <em>Pollux<em> and the _Charger_. "Jump completed, sir." Carter reported, eyes never leaving his computer terminal. "We are roughly forty million kilometers out from the gas giant Ophion." The tactical officer added to his initial reported, allowing himself to relax slightly.

"Very well, Lieutenant. Long range?" Nikitas questioned.

"Two basestars around the Colony of Scorpia. They are not moving from their current positions. Seems they haven't noticed us." Carter explained in response to the flag officer's question.

Nikitas nodded his head while folding his hands behind his back. "Take us in, Lieutenant. Tell Thrasher to launch his Raptor and get back to the fleet. Sound the all clear and have the ships jump into the system." The Rear Admiral ordered. Bringing in all of the military and civilian ships was certainly a risk, but this way would take them a shorter amount of time and Nikitas knew the status of each ship within the Remanent Fleet.

After thirty minutes of waiting, seventeen new contacts appeared on DRADIS, the screen reporting them as friendly and displaying each ship name under its blip. The twenty ship fleet was complete again. The three police frigates; _Intrepidous_, _Iustitia_, and _Vigilum_, formed up around the flagship. _Cerus_ sat in the middle of the fleet, with _Pollux_ and _Charger_ on either side. Once the three battlestars were fully armed, however, _Pollux_ and _Charger_ would be accompanied by a battlestar and another battlestar would take position at the fleet's flank. This would supply a full three hundred and sixty degrees of protection._  
><em>

"Tell _Atlas_ and _Erebus_ to fill their magazines first." Nikitas ordered Petty Officer Bennett, who nodded and transmitted the orders. Ophion Anchorage, which was still intact just as Nikitas had assumed, could dock two ships at a time. This allowed Battlestar Groups to replenish their ammo faster and get back into the fight sooner.

"DRADIS contacts!" Carter shouted, causing Nikitas' eyes to shoot back to the screen. Around Ophion Anchorage, two unidentified blips appeared in close proximity to the station. "Must be a Cylon trap!" Carter added to his first report quickly, jumping from station to station.

"How the frak did they know we would come here?" Major Ellington questioned with a frown.

Nikitas groaned. "Knew they'd stake out the watering hole." He muttered under his breath. "All right people, get Charger and Pollux into a defensive formation. Pull the civvies back. Let's get some lead ou-" The Rear Admiral was interrupted by Bennett.

"I'm getting Colonial transponders and recognition codes. Those ships are friendly!" Bennett exclaimed from the communication's station, causing the CIC to go silent for several moments before erupting into uproar and cheers.

The Rear Admiral allowed himself to smile slightly, but was still cautious in dealing with these ships. "Raise them on the wireless." He ordered Bennett over the cheers. Bennett gave him a thumbs up and Nikitas picked up the corded phone attatched to the center console. "_This is the Battlestar Cerus_ to unknown Colonial ships, identify yourselves at once." The Rear Admiral ordered sternly.

There was a pause before a response came. _"This is Colonel Fredrick Stanton of the Colonial Reserve Columbia-class battleship Nemesis accompanied by the tylium supertanker Implete."_ A gravelly, heavily Aerilon accented voice came over the wireless.

Nikitas was taken back. The Columbia-class battleship was the predecessor to the first Jupiter-class battlestars. It was a pre-First Cylon War ship. "Be advised, _Nemesis_ Actual, this is Rear Admiral Axel Nikitas of the _Battlestar Cerus_. I am in command of a fleet of twenty ships, consisting of four battlestars, two escort ships, one former Colonial Fleet prison ship, and thirteen civilian ships. We came to Ophion Anchorage to fill our magazines. Request you leave your moorings and join the rest of the fleet." The Rear Admiral stated simply.

_"Understood, sir. Will comply. Permission to come aboard via Raptor?"_ Stanton requested.

"Granted. Use the starboard flight pod. Port flight pod is out of commission for the time being. _Cerus_ Actual, out." Nikitas ended the transmission and turned back to Bennett. "Patch me into the entire fleet." He ordered simply, waiting for the communications specialist to comply. Bennett gave him another thumbs up. "This is Admiral Nikitas. We have received friendly transponders from two ships currently docked with Ophion Anchorage. The Columbia-class battleship _Nemesis_ and the tyilum supertanker _Implete_. They will be joining the fleet." The Rear Admiral reported with a smile.

The CIC erupted into more cheers as another blip appeared on DRADIS, launched from the Nemesis. It was a Raptor, presumably the one Stanton was aboard, and it was coming straight towards _Cerus_. This operation had just given the fleet an extra warship and a tylium supertanker. Humanity's luck was still holding for the time being.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_

_**So, just a quick input. The Columbia-class battleship is based upon the Columbia-class battlestar from the Original Series. Just my way of paying homage to the show that started it all. That's pretty much all I have to add. See you guys next chapter!**_


	9. Chapter 8

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 8: Battle of Ophion<em> _Anchorage_  
><strong>

**_Twenty Nine Days After the Fall, Ophion Anchorage_**

* * *

><p>Colonel Fredrick Stanton had brought over the specifications of the Columbia-class battleship <em>Nemesis<em> when he had come aboard _Cerus_ to meet with Rear Admiral Nikitas. Nikitas was still reading through the file, as Stanton sat across from the Admiral's desk. They were in Nikitas' personal quarters and had been discussing several subjects for the past five minutes over a bottle of Caprican Ambrosia that Nikitas had stashed away in his quarters.**_  
><em>**

The Columbia-class line of warships were commissioned fourteen years before the First Cylon War, entering into competition with the Mark I Basestar line of ships for main use within the many intra-colonial conflicts from before the Articles of Colonization. The only thing the Columbia-class outdid the Mark I Basestar line in was ground assault. The ship could carry an entire battalion of Marines, twenty Landram Assault Vehicles, or L.A.V.'s, and five Mark I Shuttle Craft to ferry the two planetside.

Unfortunately, the richer Colonies such as Caprica opted to use the Mark I Basestar in its fleet systems. The company that designed the Columbia-class was forced to lower the price per unit to make up for financial losses.

Columbia-class battleships became mainstays within the poorer Colonies' fleets. Tauron and Sagittaron were two prime examples of Colonies that used the Columbia-class battleships in their space navies. When the First Cylon War broke out and the Colonies that utilized the Centurion Model 005 Cylons and Mark I Basestars found themselves without a capable space navy to defend themselves. This led to the recently united Colonies relatively defenseless against an enemy with technological superiority.

This led to increased demand for the Columbia-class battleships and, eventually, the Jupiter-class battlestars, which were direct ancestors of the Columbia-class battleship. After the war, however, these ships were already twenty four years old and considered heavily outdated. They were put into the Reserve Fleet and mostly forgotten. Apparently, one had escaped the scrapper's torch for sixty odd years.

_Nemesis_ was in relatively good condition, considering how old she was. Her armor plating had been replaced twenty five years ago and her weaponry had been upgraded to meet the newer standards of the Colonial Fleet. She was one thousand and fifty meters in length and four hundred and twenty meters in width. She was not as tall as more modern battlestars and her crew complement was relatively low, not needing nearly as many crewmen as a modern battlestar would.

The Columbia-class battleship one had a crew of nine hundred and twenty three and one squadron of mark V Vipers aboard. The Reserve Fleet was armed with the outdated technology from the Active Fleet. While the mark VI and mark VII were still found throughout the Active Fleet, the mark V plane had found their way into the Reserve arsenal. The battleship had an armament of twenty eight heavy anti-ship dual mounted turrets and two hundred and eighty six point defense weapons. The ship had been designed as a ship destroyer and most of her anti-ship turrets were mounted on either of her sides as to inflict serious broadside damage. Fighter defense had never been the main concern of the Columbia-class. _Nemesis_ could hold a maximum of sixty Vipers, but for now she only had one squadron aboard ship. The ship was run by reservists who had simply been serving their mandatory service aboard ship when the Second Cylon War began.

Now, _Nemesis_ found herself in the same position as every other ship within the Remnant Fleet: fighting for the lives of her crew against the Cylon onslaught. "Colonel Stanton." Nikitas broke the five minute silence. Stanton stiffened in his seat, ready to address the Admiral. Stanton had been a reservist before the attacks. The Colonel had served actively within the Fleet for fifteen years before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He had been put into the reserves and made into a Colonel. These few months had been his mandatory three months of service. The Colonial Reserve Fleet required every member to serve one three month deployment every five years. "I'm glad to have found you and your ship, but are you sure _Nemesis_ is in any condition to fight? She's over sixty years old after all." The Admiral explained.

"I can vouch for her, sir. She's been put into dry dock several times since the First War to keep her relatively up-to-date with Fleet standards. All cannons work, all armor plating is secure, the flight pods are working, and the crew is eager to get back at the Cylons." The Colonel explained with a short smile.

The Admiral allowed himself a short chuckle before continuing. "I'm glad you're confident in her abilities. Your ships is one of the last military ships in service. Nemesis is an older ship, but I need her one hundred percent. I see that you have a squadron of mark V Vipers. Your squadron's trained and ready for combat?" Nikitas questioned with a raised brow.

Stanton nodded his head. "Yes, sir. They're green, but they're ready to face the Cylons. We've been lucky since the attacks. We hunkered down at Ophion Anchorage and we weren't noticed. We've avoided combat for the simple reason that we would have been annihilated by the Cylons. Joined with a fleet, however, Nemesis is ready to kick Cylon ass, pardon my language, Admiral." He explained.

"No need to apologize. How many Marines do you have aboard ship?" The Admiral asked, setting the Nemesis files aside.

"Two hundred and ten. We could transport a lot more, but we were a reserve ship. The Nemesis doesn't carry a full battalion like the good old days." Stanton answered, taking a swig of his Ambrosia.

Nikitas nodded his head. "All right. It's a frakkin' miracle we found you, Fred. We need as many ships as we can get a hold of. As much as I'd love to continue this conversation, we've both got our jobs to do. Lieutenant Carter, my tactical officer, will send you the orders for Nemesis. You're dismissed, Colonel." The Admiral stated, standing from his seat and saluting the Colonel. Stanton rose to his feet, saluted his superior, and exited the Admiral's quarters.

Nikitas soon followed after signing off several requisition forms from the civilian fleet. Captain Harvey had requested a pair of _Cerus'_ spare carbon dioxide scrubbers to replace two on his ship that had gone out, causing said locations to be closed off to his crew. Captain Swafford had requested better ballistic armor for his officers, which Nikitas chose to supply. _Cerus_ had plenty extra sets of body armor.

The Admiral entered the CIC, being noticed by a random crewman. "Admiral on deck!" He called out to the CIC.

They began rising to their feet before Nikitas stopped them. "At ease." He told them, walking down to the center console. Major Ellington stood there, reading over several reports. "What's our status?" Nikitas questioned the Major.

"_Atlas_ has finished rearming and _Erebus_ is just about finished. _Atromitos_ began refilling its magazine roughly ten minutes ago. I took the liberty of ordering_ Forlorn Hope_ to dock after _Erebus_ is finished and clean out whatever is remaining, that way we have all of the ammo from this Anchorage." Ellington explained to him.

Nikitas nodded his head. "Very well, Major. Get the fleet ready for a jump back to CSSI 009981." He ordered. Ellington nodded and began giving the appropriate orders. He told Petty Officer Bennett to contact the fleet and let them know their destination.

"Oh frak, four-make that five Cylon basestars moving towards us on an intercept course!" Carter reported from the long range DRADIS console.

"Son of a bitch." Nikitas muttered before turning to the tactical officer. "How long until the fleet is ready for a jump?" The Admiral questioned the young Picon born Lieutenant.

Carter looked up from his station with a grim face. "Five minutes if we're lucky. Ten if we're not, sir." He reported.

Nikitas paused, rapping his knuckles against the center console, attempting to come up with a plan on very short notice. "Order the civilian fleet to make a run for the edge of the system until their FTL systems are online with _Pollux_ and _Charger_ escorting them. Have _Erebus_ and _Atlas_ form up to our port and starboard sides and have Colonel Stanton move his ship above _Cerus_." He ordered.

"Above us, Admiral?" Carter questioned with an incredulous look.

"Yes, above us. I want _Nemesis_ above us. We're holding this position. For now." Nikitas explained. Carter complied with his orders hesitantly. the only solace for the young Lieutenant being that Nikitas had pulled off unorthodox tactics such as this before.

Major Ellington stood beside the Rear Admiral, hands folded behind his back calmly. "I hope you know what you're doing, Axel." The Major whispered to Nikitas, using the Admiral's first name.

"So do I." The Admiral responded, before returning to the battle at hand. "Time until the basestars get here?" Nikitas questioned.

"Six minutes. Long range is reading them as First Cylon War basestars though; the Alpha-class Baseships." Lieutenant Carter stated, obviously confused. The Remnant Fleet hadn't seen First Cylon War era basestars in battle since the start of the Second Cylon War.

It was odd, but now wasn't the time to think about that. "Launch all available Vipers. Order the other ships to do the same." Nikitas ordered. Ellington got on the shipwide wireless, ordering _Cerus'_ Vipers to launch, while Bennett ordered the other ships to launch their Vipers. The flagship's mark VII Vipers led the way while the older mark II, mark III, mark IV, mark V, and mark VI Vipers that they had salvaged from Perses Shipyards on Canceron followed. _Erebus_ carried, into battle, a squadron of mark III Vipers and a squadron of mark IV Vipers. _Atlas_ held a single squadron of mark VI Vipers. _Atromitos_ carried the biggest complement of Vipers besides _Cerus_, having two squadrons of mark II Vipers and one squadron of mark V Vipers. Nikitas had every trained pilot, including Raptor pilots and electronic-countermeasure-officers, flying Vipers at the moment.

There had been twelve retired Colonial Fleet pilots within the civilian fleet that were old enough to rejoin active service. They had immediately been put into Vipers and put onto active duty. Nikitas had no time to reteach them. They had logged several hours in _Cerus'_ simulators, before being sent out into the fleet. _Pollux_ and _Charger_ contributed twenty pilots combined, sacrificing their two man Raptor crews to help fill in as Viper jockeys. That had given the entire fleet a combined Viper complement of roughly one hundred and eighty fighters.

"Baseships have launched fighters. Two minutes to intercept." Carter reported from his post nervously.

Nikitas picked up the corded phone, accessing the wireless communication for a fleetwide transmission. "This is _Cerus_-actual to all ships in defensive patterns, prepare for a full to port thrust, on my mark." The Admiral stated. Several crewmen looked at him incredulously, but none spoke up. Several muttered to each other, but they did as they were told.

"Baseships are launching missiles! Forty five second until impact! Vipers a requesting permission to move to intercept." Carter reported nervously.

"Tell them to hold!" Nikitas stated, waiting patiently as the seconds ticked down. When it reached twenty five seconds until impact, he sprang into action. "Point defense weapons begin firing!" He grabbed the wireless. "All ships, full to port; now! Now! Now!" He ordered, practically yelling into the wireless, as sweat fell from his forehead onto the ground.

The ships began lurching to the left, slowly moving out of the missiles way. The newer Cylon baseships used smartfire missiles, but if Nikitas was correct in his assumptions the Alpha-class basestars would still have their original dumbfire systems. "The missiles aren't altering their course! They're dumbfire!" Carter exclaimed excitedly, driving the CIC to cheers as most of the missile barrage harmlessly flew past the flagship. The few that weren't avoided were quickly destroyed by the point defense guns. _Atlas_ had taken one warhead to the lower part of her alligator head, resulting in very little damage.

"All ships, full ahead. Vipers, wipe those frakkin' Raiders out of existence." The Admiral spoke all ships. Cerus led the warships in their charge, while the flagship's Viper squadrons led the fighter screen into the assaulting Raider lines.

_"Cerus, this is Blackjack! These Raiders are First War variants!"_ The Cerus CAG reported over the wireless. The First Cylon War Raiders were much easier to deal with than the newer Raiders.

Nikitas was cool and collected, obviously confident in his ragtag fleet's abilities. "Weapons control, target the leftmost basestar with our missile batteries and medium turrets. Keep our flak field strong. Destroy as many of those warheads as possible." The Admiral ordered calmly, his hands folded together behind his back. Several warheads made it through, striking the battlestar's currently inactive port flight pod. "Major, take control of damage control teams." He added to his original orders. Ellington nodded and ran to the damage control panel, helping coordinate the teams in repairing systems or fighting fires.

One of the basestars, the one that _Erebus_ and _Nemesis_ had teamed up on, disappeared from DRADIS, indicating it was destroyed. "One baseship down." Carter reported. Another disappeared after _Atlas_ used one of her recently acquired nuclear warheads on it. Ophion Anchorage had been a major nuclear warhead stockpile, housing a hundred plus nuclear warheads. They had lost four Vipers so far in comparison to the fifty three Cylon Raiders that had been destroyed.

The other two basestars disengaged and began withdrawing, attempting to pull away from the one sided battle. Whoever was in command of the basestars had intended for the first barrage to cause major damage to the battlestars, leaving them defenseless enough for long range missile fire and Raider strikes to destroy the meddlesome Colonial Fleet remnants. One of the baseships managed to recall their Raiders, spool up its FTL drive, and jump away from the battle, while the remaining Cylon ship was left with a disabled drive and no chance of survival.

The few remaining Raiders set up a defensive screen around the basestar, attempting to buy the enemy ship time to escape from the battle. Nikitas furrowed his brows at this childish tactic and picked up the wireless. "Blackjack, _Cerus_-actual. Smash through their lines and finish off that outdated motherfrakker." The Admiral commanded, openly cussing over the wireless. Before the attacks, Nikitas would probably have been reprimanded for the language he used, but considering there was no board of Admirals to punish him he didn't much care.

_"Wilco, Cerus-actual. All squadrons, form up on me. Let's pave the way and take that toaster-garage out."_ Blackjack's voice responded over the wireless, using the slang 'toaster-garage' to refer to the Cylon basestar. It took a few mere minutes for Blackjack to smash through the defensive fighter screen and begin harassing the basestar. The remaining Raiders were quickly finished off as the Viper squadron from Atlas disengaged the basestar to destroy the disorganized hundred plus Raiders. You would think the odds would have been stacked in favor of the Colonials, but disorganized Cylons turned into a turkey shoot rapidly.

The basestar, after taking many missiles and cannon fire from the Colonial fighters, disappeared from DRADIS, causing the flagship's to CIC to erupt into uproar and applause as Blackjack came over the wireless. _"Cerus, this is Blackjack. Scratch one times enemy basestar."_ The CAG spoke, a hint of smugness in his tone of voice. Nikitas could tell the young Captain had been smiling when he gave the report.

Nikitas looked at DRADIS and saw that both _Atromitos_ and _Forlorn Hope_ were leaving Ophion Anchorage's vicinity, indicating they had finished loading the remaining munitions from the station. The civilian fleet, along with Pollux and Charger, had long since jumped away. Nikitas picked up the wireless, ordering Bennett to patch him into the entire fleet. "This is the Admiral. That, my fellow survivors, was our baptism by fire. We have proven our ships, our firepower, and ourselves in battle. The Rescue at Canceron was our first success. This was our first victory. The first of many. This was the first blow to the Cylons. We turned around and we hit them hard. They did not see that coming. They will next time, but we will win. We will win, because we are the Colonial Fleet. We are the protectors of humanity. We are the survivors." He paused and allowed himself to smile, basking in the victory. "Input coordinates for CSSI 009981 to rejoin the rest of the fleet. Enjoy this while it lasts."


	10. Chapter 9

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 9:<em> _Fractured  
><em>**

**_Cylon Controlled Space, The Colony_**

* * *

><p>The Cavil in charge of destroying the Remnant Fleet groaned, rubbing his temples as the six representatives of his brothers and sisters gathered around him, all expecting an answer as to why he had failed in destroying the humans. "Listen, you incoherent fools, yes, the humans are proving more difficult to deal with. Yes, we lost three basestars. Yes, the commander of this fleet is skilled. No, they are not invincible. No, I am not letting them escape our grasps. This is nothing more than a loose end and we always tie up lose ends." Cavil explained with a groan to emphasize his annoyance with them.<p>

"That's not good enough this time, One." The Three representative spoke. "You've failed twice already. How many more times are you going to fail? We need a new strategy." She stated.

Six stepped forward next. "God's will must be done, brother. You have failed. Perhaps it is time to rethink the grand strategy." She suggested.

"I disagree. One is the most experienced strategist we have. We must follow his plan or this nuisance will never be resolved." A Leoben model spoke on behalf of Cavil. Most of his model was conflicted with the decision, but he truly believed Cavil was their best hope for defeating the Remnant Fleet.

Eight simply shook her head and sighed. "He's nothing more than a bumbling idiot. His strategy has been what has given the Colonials two victories over our forces. I say we elect a new strategist for the Remnants Campaign." The model stated, putting forward the vote.

"I agree." The five Doral model stated.

"Agreed." Three spoke.

"Agreed." Six spoke.

"I disagree." Leoben stated defiantly, arms across his chest.

"Agreed." Eight added, looking at the Leoben model spitefully

The number four stepped forward. "Logic says a new strategy is needed. I am in agreement for a new strategist." Simon stated.

Cavil sighed as his brothers and sisters began debating. "That's frakkin' it." He muttered under his breath, pulling a pistol from his jacket and shooting down five of the six, leaving the Leoben model standing. "I didn't want to do that, but it's come to the point of ridiculousness with all this debating. My fleet is loyal to me and will continue to fight the Remnants by my frakkin' command. They have no right to take it away." Cavil explained while he put the pistol back into his jacket. "Come on, brother. We have work to do. A splinter movement is hard to control, after all." The One model stated as two Centurion Model 005's walked into the room and escorted him out of the Colony's meeting room. Leoben hesitantly followed.

Someone had to do the dirty work of the Cylon and it sure as frak wasn't going to be done through debates and decisions. Humanity would be driven to extinction by Cavil's Cylon Fleet. When they left the Colony, Cavil's fleet consisted of thirteen the new Beta-class baseships, twenty older Alpha-class baseships, thirty two support ships, and one resurrection ship.

This war would be won and Cavil would be the Cylon's hero.


	11. Chapter 10

**_The Remnants_**  
><strong><em>Chapter 10: The Sacrifices We Make, Part I<em>  
><strong>

**_Fifty Three Days After the Fall, Colonial Solar System Index (CSSI) 009981_**

* * *

><p>The survivors of humanity have avoided the might of the Cylon fleet for twenty four days now, just over three weeks. The Remnant Fleet had found a source of liquid water in a different solar body, just a single jump away from the current hideout for the remains of the Colonial society. Unfortunately, the planet's atmosphere and surface was unsuitable to support human life. The water, however, was good enough. Trace amounts of salt in the water, but not enough to ruin the water source completely.<p>

Five days after the fleet had rearmed at Ophion Anchorage, the whole fleet refilled their water tanks on the planet. The entire fleet had enough water for at the very least ten years without having to ration their water out. For now, the main concern for the fleet was the Cylons. They still hadn't found CSSI 009981, yet, but it was only a matter of time before they did and when that happened, Nikitas had no contingency to fall back on. There was no final destination, no long-term goal, besides survival of the human race.

It was disheartening to think about, but it was the truth. They had yet to find something to believe in and it had been almost two months since the beginning of the Second Cylon War. "We've lost the war." Nikitas muttered, leaning against the center console of CIC.

"What was that, boss?" Ellington questioned with a short yawn. It was starting to get late and Ellington's shift was almost over in the CIC.

Nikitas turned to his XO, before continuing. "We lost the main part of the war. I gave a few speeches about how we're still fighting and whatnot, but the fact of the matter is that even if we were to beat the Cylons, the Colonies will not be able to support us as they used to. Humanity's already extinct, we just haven't stopped fighting it off yet. We're staving off the inevitable destruction of an entire species with a few outdated, ragtag ships and some civilians scared witless. The only way we're keeping our sanity is continuing to go about our lives as we did before the attacks." The Admiral explained solemnly. By the time he finished speaking, most of the CIC crew was listening to him talk, growing more and more disheartened with every word.

There was a silence before Petty Officer Bennett of all people spoke. "Permission to speak freely?" He requested. Nikitas simply nodded. "That was frakkin' stupid, sir. Maybe we did lose our homes. Maybe we've lost our way of life. Maybe we've lost people. Maybe we're doing nothing more than staving off the inevitable death of the human race, but shouldn't that be something worth fighting against? Extinction is our greatest inspiration. If we just roll over and take it, who will remember us? Don't focus on the life we have now, focus on the one we could have in the future. Maybe the next generation of humanity will be stuck aboard theses ships, maybe we'll find a habitable planet in a week. Nothing is certain, but our future is out there and it sure as hell isn't extinction. With all due respect, Admiral, you can't just stop." Bennett's words left the room in silence again.

The Admiral stared at Bennett intently for several long moments, before nodding his head. "So say we all, mister Bennett. Carry on and forget my words. I lost myself for a moment." Nikitas explained, standing straight as the rest of the CIC returned to their duties, spirits semi-rejuvenated from Bennett's speech.

"Admiral, if you find us a habitable rock to settle on so my children don't have to grow up aboard a battlestar, I'll build a godsdamned shrine to you." Ellington spoke, leaving Nikitas with a short smile.

Ellington had become Nikitas' right hand man, the officer who Nikitas entrusted everything with. The Major had proven himself the day he took over as executive officer and he quickly earned the Admiral's respect.

Souring the moment, thirteen blips appeared over DRADIS and were identified as Cylon ships. "Set condition one throughout the ship! Launch the alert Vipers!" Nikitas ordered, beating everyone else to it. Lieutenant Carter set the ship to condition one and sprang into action. It would take the civilian fleet several minutes to spin up their FTL drives, meaning the military ships would have to buy them time. The odds were not in Colonial favor this battle. "Order the CAP to form up on us in a defensive screen while our alert fighters launch. Order all ships full ahead towards the oncoming ships." The Admiral ordered. His orders were quickly and efficiently relayed.

"Sir, ten of the thirteen contacts are Cylon baseships. The other three are smaller ships, probable support ships." Carter reported from the long-range DRADIS station, beads of sweat forming on the tactical officer's forehead.

"Order _Erebus_ and _Atlas_ to team up on the three support ships. _Cerus_ and _Nemesis_ will take five of the basestars. _Atromitos, Charger,_ and _Pollux_ will take the other five." Nikitas ordered. Two battlestars wouldn't last long against five baseships, much less a single Valkyrie-class battlestar and a sixty year old battleships. They would need a miracle to survive this battle, but it needed to be done.

"All Vipers are away." Carter stated, glancing up at the DRADIS console. It was filled with green blips, but the red blips were coming closer and closer.

Nikitas rubbed the bridge of his nose, considering the tactics he could employ in this situation. "Have all Viper squadron form up around their ships in a loose defensive pattern. They are to keep both the Raiders and warheads at bay as long as possible. This whole battle will go wrong real quick if we can't keep the fighters and missiles away from the ships." The forty one year old flag officer explained, arms crossed over his arms.

When the rival ships were within each others firing arcs, they began slugging away at one another, the Colonials using their kinetic turrets and the Cylons utilizing their missile batteries as their main weapons of war. Nikitas groaned as his ship took two conventional warheads to the recently reactivated port side flight pod of his flagship. _Nemesis_ and _Cerus_ had already destroyed one of their five targets, but it was far from over and both ships were taken hits. "Radiological alarm!" Carter barely had time to yell the warning, before two nukes hit _Cerus_.

Nikitas was thrown off his feet, his jaw hitting the ground hard. He felt a sharp pain run through his mouth and could taste the warm blood in his mouth. The Admiral spit, pushing himself to his feet. "Damage report!" He shouted for.

"Decompression reported on multiple decks. Much of our armor plating was just destroyed in that salvo. Power outages reported throughout the ship. And..." Carter paused as the reports came in through his headset. _Cerus_ groaned as several warheads hit her port side, causing even more damage. "Many of our point defense guns our inoperable and most of our missile batteries are done for!" The young Lieutenant reported.

"They're teaming up on us... They're practically ignoring Nemesis." Ellington pointed out in disbelief.

Nikitas grimaced as his ship began buckling. He knew what that meant. The battlestar was on its last legs. Another basestar, the one targeted by _Nemesis_, disappeared from DRADIS. The civilian fleet were to far away to be viewed by DRADIS now. They had probably already jumped out of system and to the planetary system where they had discovered their source of water. Nikitas could feel the lump forming in his throat as everyone in CIC looked to him for orders. "That's it then..." He muttered. The Admiral picked up the wireless, keying it in for shipwide. "This is the Admiral. All crew..." He paused and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Abandon ship. I repeat, abandon ship." Nikitas set the wireless down and looked around in disbelief as the CIC crew quickly began evacuating their stations.

"It's time to go, sir." Ellington stated simply, patting Nikitas on the shoulder.

The Admiral shook his head. "Not yet. Get off ship, Major. I'll be there shortly. I need to send this ship out with a bang." Nikitas explained simply. Ellington nodded, knowing the Admiral's intentions.

"Good luck, sir." Carter stated before exiting the CIC.

Nikitas jogged over to helm control, locking in a collision course with one of the Cylon baseships. The battle had gone well for the rest of the fleet. The _Atromitos_ group disabled four of their five targets, with the fifth basestar limping away. The three support ships had quickly been destroyed by the combined firepower of _Erebus_ and _Atlas_. Nikitas went to the communications station and switched to fleetwide. "This is Admiral Nikitas to all ships. _Cerus_ has been abandoned. I've keyed her in for a collision with one of the basestars. All ships, disengage." He ordered, letting the wireless transmission end.

Suddenly, three green blips appeared next to Cerus on the faulty DRADIS console. _"Admiral, this is Swafford. We're gonna give you and your men as much time as we can to get you off that ship. Evacuate now."_ Swafford explained over the wireless.

Nikitas couldn't help, but smile at the audacity of the law enforcement officer. The Admiral looked around the CIC as the ship slowly crumbled on itself. He leaned over the center console, patting it once in appreciation, before jogging out of the CIC for the final time. For five years he had commanded this battlestar. Now he was destroying it. He made it to the hangar deck and found one of the final Raptors preparing to leave the ship.

Several Marines helped the Admiral in as the pilot, Thrasher, went skids up and exited the ship. Twenty seconds later, _Cerus_ had collided into a basestar. The wreckage from the resulting collision plummeted dramatically into the other two remaining basestars, sending them up in flames. Nikitas struggled to hold back a single tear as he watched the only home he had known for years split into chunks of debris, floating aimlessly. "Where to now, Admiral?" Thrasher questioned. The threat had been taken care of, the basestars were destroyed, and the two shuttles from Cerus and countless Raptors were left without a definite port.

"All _Cerus_ survivors are to report to _Atromitos_. I'm transferring my flag." Nikitas said simply, his arms crossed over his chest. He knew that _Cerus_ had probably gone down with many of the crew still aboard, but it was the only thing to be done. The ship was broken and the Cylons were unrelenting. It was sacrifice her and some of the crew, or sacrifice everything. He made the tough choice.


End file.
